Yasuharu Imai, Takamichi Murakami, Shigeyuki Yoshida, Masahiro Nishikawa, Masahiko Ohsawa, Koh Tokunaga, Masaru Murata, Kunitaka Shibata, Shinichiro Zushi, Masanori Kurokawa, Takeshi Yonezawa, Sumio Kawata, Manabu Takamura, Hiroaki Nagano, Masato Sakon, Morito Monden, Kenichi Wakasa, Hironobu Nakamura – 30 December 2003 – Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)–enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been used for the detection of hepatic tumors. However, little is known about this technique in relation to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Peer Flemming, Ulrich Lehmann, Thomas Becker, Jürgen Klempnauer, Hans Kreipe – 30 December 2003 – Angiomyolipoma represents a rare liver tumor of uncertain histogenesis that is commonly considered a hamartoma. A series of 12 hepatic angiomyolipomas, including 3 samples of the epithelioid subtype, was analyzed for clonality using the human androgen receptor gene locus (HUMARA). Four of 6 informative cases revealed monoclonality. The polyclonal pattern in the 2 remaining cases was most probably caused by excessive infiltration of inflammatory cells.

Kenji Ikeda, Yasuji Arase, Satoshi Saitoh, Masahiro Kobayashi, Yoshiyuki Suzuki, Fumitaka Suzuki, Akihito Tsubota, Kazuaki Chayama, Naoya Murashima, Hiromitsu Kumada – 30 December 2003 – Because hepatocellular carcinoma often recurs after surgical resection or ethanol injection therapy, we conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial of interferon (IFN) in patients with chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Erica Villa, Anna Moles, Ilva Ferretti, Paola Buttafoco, Antonella Grottola, Mariagrazia Del Buono, Mario De Santis, Federico Manenti – 30 December 2003 – Clinical course in hepatocellular carcinoma may be very different. We prospectively evaluated 96 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma unsuitable for radical therapy to investigate factors that could influence survival. Clinical, pathologic, and molecular data of patients were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis. The overall actuarial probability of survival at year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 was 72%, 41%, 38%, 24%, 20%, and 9%.

Xavier Forns, Paul J. Payette, Xiaoying Ma, William Satterfield, Gerald Eder, Isa K. Mushahwar, Sugantha Govindarajan, Heather L. Davis, Suzanne U. Emerson, Robert H. Purcell, Jens Bukh – 30 December 2003 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. Development of vaccines to prevent HCV infection, or at least prevent progression to chronicity, is a major goal. In mice and rhesus macaques, a DNA vaccine encoding cell‐surface HCV–envelope 2 (E2) glycoprotein stimulated stronger immune responses than a vaccine encoding intracellular E2.

James L. Boyer – 30 December 2003

Jacquelyn Maher – 30 December 2003

James L. Boyer – 30 December 2003

James L. Boyer – 30 December 2003

Enrique Lara‐Pezzi, Juan M. Serrador, María C. Montoya, David Zamora, María Yáñez‐Mó, Marta Carretero, Heinz Furthmayr, Francisco Sánchez‐Madrid, Manuel López‐Cabrera – 30 December 2003 – The hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been involved in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its possible contribution to the metastatic spreading of liver tumors has not been explored so far.