Masayoshi Ijichi, Tadatoshi Takayama, Masayuki Matsumura, Yasushi Shiratori, Masao Omata, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 30 December 2003 – α‐fetoprotein (AFP) messenger RNA (mRNA) has been proposed as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells disseminated into the circulation, but its clinical significance remains controversial. We prospectively assessed the prognostic value of AFP mRNA in patients undergoing curative hepatic resection for HCC.

Barbara McGovern, Ioana Bica – 30 December 2003

Kirsten Muri Boberg, Giuseppe Rocca, Thore Egeland, Annika Bergquist, Ulrika Broomé, Llorenc Caballeria, Roger Chapman, Rolf Hultcrantz, Stephen Mitchell, Albert Pares, Floriano Rosina, Erik Schrumpf – 30 December 2003 – More precise prognostic models are needed for prediction of survival in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), particularly for the selection of candidates for liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to develop a time‐dependent prognostic model for the calculation of updated short‐term survival probability in PSC.

Geoffrey C. Farrell, Graham R. Robertson, Isabelle Leclercq, Yves Horsmans – 30 December 2003

Ugochukwu C. Nzeako, Maria Eugenia Guicciardi, Jung‐Hwan Yoon, Steven F. Bronk, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003 – Fas expression has been shown to negatively regulate the progression of cholangiocarcinoma cells in xenografts. However, many human cholangiocarcinomas express Fas, suggesting these cancers have developed mechanisms to inhibit Fas‐mediated apoptosis. Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), which generates prostanoids, is expressed by many cholangiocarcinomas.

Ton Lisman, Frank W.G. Leebeek, Karina Meijer, Jan Van Der Meer, H. Karel Nieuwenhuis, Philip G. De Groot – 30 December 2003 – Cirrhosis is associated with a bleeding tendency, which is particularly pronounced during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). A novel approach to treating the bleeding diathesis of patients with cirrhosis is administration of recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa). This study examined whether the efficacy of rFVIIa in cirrhosis might be explained in part by enhanced down‐regulation of fibrinolysis by thrombin‐activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI).

M. Bishr Omary, Nam‐On Ku, Diana M. Toivola – 30 December 2003

Patrizia Latorre, Laura Rubbia‐Brandt, Emiliano Giostra, Karim Abid, Francesco Negro – 30 December 2003

Elena Obrador, Julian Carretero, Angel Ortega, Ignacio Medina, Vicente Rodilla, José A. Pellicer, José M. Estrela – 30 December 2003 – B16 melanoma (B16M) cells with high glutathione (GSH) content show rapid proliferation in vitro and high metastatic activity in the liver in vivo. γ‐Glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT)‐mediated extracellular GSH cleavage and intracellular GSH synthesis were studied in vitro in B16M cells with high (F10) and low (F1) metastatic potential. GGT activity was modified by transfection with the human GGT gene (B16MF1/Tet‐GGT cells) or by acivicin‐induced inhibition.

Javier Fernández, Miquel Navasa, Juliá Gómez, Jordi Colmenero, Jordi Vila, Vicente Arroyo, Juan Rodés – 30 December 2003 – The extensive use of invasive procedures and of long‐term norfloxacin prophylaxis in the management of cirrhotic patients may have influenced the epidemiology of bacterial infections in cirrhosis. We conducted a prospective evaluation of all bacterial infections diagnosed in patients with cirrhosis in a Liver Unit between April 1998 and April 2000. A total of 405 patients presented 572 bacterial infections in 507 admissions.