Kia Saeian, José Franco, Richard A. Komorowski, Mark B. Adams – 30 December 2003 – The occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in renal transplant recipients has typically been associated with hepatitis B or C infection. We encountered two cases of HCC in renal transplant recipients with negative hepatitis B and C markers and no underlying liver pathology, in whom immunosuppression therapy consisted of prednisone and azathioprine (AZA). Patient no. 1 is a 66‐year‐old man with diabetes who underwent cadaveric renal transplantation 13 years before presentation.

Mark W. Russo, Robert S. Sandler, Lawrence Mandelkehr, Jeffrey H. Fair, Mark W. Johnson, Robert S Brown – 30 December 2003 – Prior studies evaluating the impact of race and payer on cost of liver transplantation did not adjust for clinical factors known to increase cost. We analyzed the impact of race and payer on the cost of liver transplantation after controlling for clinical factors.

Robert Ryu, Terry C. Lin, David Kumpe, Joseph Krysl, Janette D. Durham, James S. Goff, Gregory T. Everson, Igal Kam, Michael Wachs, Paul Russ, Roshan Shrestha, Thomas E. Trouillot, Bahri M. Bilir, – 30 December 2003 – Mesenteric vein thrombosis (MVT) is a rare cause of intestinal ischemia. Because of its nonspecific symptoms, diagnosis is often delayed. We describe a patient with liver cirrhosis who developed acute MVT while waiting for liver transplantation. Surgical intervention carried a high risk because of her underlying cirrhosis.

Dieter C. Broering, Xavier Rogiers,, Massimo Malagó, Atef Bassas, Christoph E. Broelsch – 30 December 2003

Yoshihide Fukuda, Isao Nakano, Yoshiaki Katano, Hidenori Toyoda, Shoichi Yokozaki, Kazuhiko Hayashi – 30 December 2003

Anders Lindblad, Hans Glaumann, Birgitta Strandvik – 30 December 2003 – The median age of the population with cystic fibrosis (CF) has increased worldwide, which has led to the suggestion that the prevalence of liver disease would increase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the natural history of CF‐associated liver disease over a 15‐year period in a well‐controlled population of patients with CF. During the years 1976 through 1993, 124 patients were followed up by yearly liver function tests (LFTs).

Janus P. Ong, David S. Barnes, Zobair M. Younossi, Terry Gramlich, Belinda Yen‐Lieberman, Marlene Goormastic, Cedric Sheffield, Kathy Hoercher, Randall Starling, James Young, Nicholas Smedira, Patrick McCarthy – 30 December 2003 – The outcome ofde novohepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in heart transplant recipients of HCV‐antibody positive organs is not known. The aim of the study was to determine the short‐term outcome of de novoHCV infection in recipients of HCV‐positive donor organs.

Hitoshi Yoshiji, Shigeki Kuriyama, Daniel J. Hicklin, James Huber, Junichi Yoshii, Yoji Miyamoto, Mitsuhiro Kawata, Yasuhide Ikenaka, Toshiya Nakatani, Hirohisa Tsujinoue, Hiroshi Fukui – 30 December 2003 – Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which is one of the most potent angiogenic factors, has been shown to play a pivotal role in tumor angiogenesis, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The effects of VEGF are mediated mainly through two distinct receptors, flt‐1 and KDR/Flk‐1. It has been suggested that KDR/Flk‐1 plays an important role in tumor development.

Ai‐Min Hui, Xing Cui, Masatoshi Makuuchi, Xin Li, Ya‐Zhou Shi, Tadatoshi Takayama – 30 December 2003 – This study was undertaken to identify potential abnormalities of p27Kip1 and cyclin D1 expression in extrahepatic bile duct carcinomas and to assess the prognostic significance of p27Kip1 and cyclin D1 levels for patients with this disease. Decreased p27Kip1 expression (<50% nuclei staining) and cyclin D1 overexpression (>5% nuclei staining) was observed immunohistochemically in 19 (56%) and 23 (68%) of the 34 tumors examined, respectively.

K. Lenhard Rudolph, Christian Trautwein, Stefan Kubicka, Tim Rakemann, Matthias J. Bahr, Nick Sedlaczek, Detlef Schuppan, Michael P. Manns – 30 December 2003 – Little is known about the modulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) during liver regeneration. We studied the temporospatial expression of procollagens and of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their physiological antagonists, the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) after two‐thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) by Northern blot analysis and in situ hybridization.