Masatoshi Makuuchi, Keiji Sano – 30 January 2004 – Due to the prevalence of hepatitis virus infection, the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is very high in Japan. Many techniques have been devised by Japanese surgeons to reduce the mortality rate after hepatectomy for HCC: preoperative precise evaluation of hepatic functional reserve, portal venous embolization as preoperative preparation, anatomical and nonanatomical limited resections using intraoperative ultrasonography, and intermittent inflow occlusion during liver transection.

Anurag Maheshwari, Rajnish Mishra, Paul J. Thuluvath – 30 January 2004 – Anemia is common after liver transplantation, with the incidence ranging from 4.3% to 28.2% depending on the criteria used to define anemia. The cause of anemia is unidentified in the majority of patients, and it is likely to be multifactorial. Immunosuppressive‐medication‐induced bone marrow suppression is perhaps the most common cause of unexplained anemia. Chronic blood loss, iron deficiency, hemolysis, and renal insufficiency are other potential causes of chronic anemia.

Pietro Amoroso, Salvatore Buonocore, Gennaro Lettieri, Paola Pierri, Alfonso Mele – 30 January 2004

Adrian Reuben – 30 January 2004

Roberto J. Groszmann, Suchat Wongcharatrawee – 30 January 2004

Minoru Ogawa, Hirofumi Yamamoto, Hiroaki Nagano, Yasuhiro Miyake, Yurika Sugita, Taishi Hata, Byung‐no Kim, Chew Yee Ngan, Bazarragchaa Damdinsuren, Masakazu Ikenaga, Masataka Ikeda, Masayuki Ohue, Shoji Nakamori, Mitsugu Sekimoto, Masato Sakon, Nariaki Matsuura, Morito Monden – 30 January 2004 – We examined the RNA content of the gene encoding angiopoietin (Ang)‐2, a modifier of angiogenesis, in hepatic metastases of colorectal cancer (CRC) to explore the role of this protein in neovascularization of metastatic foci.

Narci Teoh, Jacqueline Field, Jaim Sutton, Geoffrey Farrell – 30 January 2004 – Although hepatic ischemia‐reperfusion (IR) injury is partially mediated by tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF), we recently found that low‐dose TNF before IR is hepatoprotective. We examined the seemingly conflicting roles of TNF in mediating liver injury in a partial hepatic IR model using TNF gene knockout (TNF ko) mice to allow TNF replacement at specified times.

Myron Schwartz – 30 January 2004 – The preferred therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) apparently confined to the liver is surgical removal of the tumor. If the location of the tumor and the functional status of the liver are such that resection with an adequate margin can be achieved with low likelihood of subsequent hepatic failure, liver resection is the preferred approach.

Ronnie Tung‐Ping Poon, Sheung‐Tat Fan – 30 January 2004 – Hepatic resection and liver transplantation are considered the only curative treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Liver transplantation for HCCs ≤ 5 cm in diameter has been shown to produce favorable survival results, but its application is limited by the lack of donors. Hepatic resection remains the treatment of choice for patients who are not transplantation candidates because of large tumor, macroscopic vascular invasion, or advanced age.

Massimo Colombo, Angelo Sangiovanni – 30 January 2004