Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is common in the Far East and South Africa, but is rare in the United States and Europe. The vast experience of the East, which has led to marked improvement in the prognosis of patients with HCC, is made available to researchers worldwide in this monograph. The book is based on an enormous amount of data that has been collected and analyzed by the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan. The data stems from a survey on HCC in Japan since 1965 and contains information from more than 30,000 patients with regard to age distribution, past medical history, diagnostic procedures, frequency of HBV-associated antigens and antibodies, surgical and conservative treatments, gross anatomical and histological features of the tumors, pathology of the noncancerous portions, distant metastasis, and survival rate. This data is a tremendous contribution to our understanding of the epidemiology, pathology, and the latest developments of the molecular biology and clinical problems of primary liver cancer.

Hardbound. This volume of Progress in Hepatology contains articles on basic and clinical research on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan, focusing on its prevention and treatment.The number of patients with HCC is now increasing in Japan and HCC arises as the main cause of death in patients with liver cirrhosis in Japan. This volume addresses the trials for the prevention of HCC growth in the chronically injured liver by hepatitis viruses and deals with the epidemiology, pathology and genomic changes of HCC in Japan.

This issue is a dedicated supplement published in addition to the regular issues of 'Oncology' focussing on one specific topic. 'Oncology' is a well-respected, international peer-reviewed journal in Oncology. Supplement issues are included in the subscription.

According to a recent report from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, the mortality rate for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is more than 30 per 100000 pop ulation. In addition,epidemiologists predictan increase in this figure by the year 2015, because of the rather high incidence of chronic liver diseases caused by HCY. The same situation has been observed in other Asian countries. It seems that HCC is likely to be an endemic disease, because of the higher preva lence of chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis caused by HBV, HCV, and/or aflatoxins in Asian and African countries. We also note that an interesting paper appeared in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine describing the increase in younger HCC patients in the United States as compared with past decades. At present, silent hepatitis C infection is now smoldering in 4 million mostly unsuspecting Americans. Those carriers will be candidates for chronic liver disease, which is a pre disposing factor for the development of HCC. In Europe there are an estimated 5 million carriers. Accordingly, it is important to do all we can to reduce the prevalence of HCC not only in African and Asian countries, but also in the United States and Europe. With this perspective,last year the Japanese Society for Hepatology, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, initiated a national campaign to fight HCC.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the current limitations and unmet needs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. It also provides newly emerging concepts, approaches, and technologies to address challenges. Topics covered include changing landscape of HCC etiologies in association with health disparities, framework of clinical management algorithm, new and experimental modalities of HCC diagnosis and prognostication, multidisciplinary treatment options including rapidly evolving molecular targeted therapies and immune therapies, multi-omics molecular characterization, and clinically relevant experimental models. The book is intended to assist collaboration between the diverse disciplines and facilitate forward and reverse translation between basic and clinical research by providing a comprehensive overview of relevant areas, covering epidemiological trend and population-level patient management strategies, new diagnostic and prognostic tools, recent advances in the standard care and novel therapeutic approaches, and new concepts in pathogenesis and experimental approaches and tools, by experts and opinion leaders in their respective fields. By thoroughly and concisely covering whole aspects of HCC care, Hepatocellular Carcinoma serves as a valuable reference for multidisciplinary readers, and promotes the development of personalized precision care strategies that lead to substantial improvement of disease burden and patient prognosis in HCC.

Primary Liver Cancer is perhaps the most prevalent malignancy in the world, particularly in South East Asia and Africa. After the discovery of hepatitis B virus as a cause of chronic liver disease often terminating cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and, more recently, the integration of viral DNA into host chromosomal DNA, the progress made in this field has been remarkable. The major reference books written until now on liver cancer are out-of-date. This new book contains 35 chapters each contributed by an authority in the field and covers all topical aspects, such as oncogenes, epidemiology, carcinogenic role of hepatitis viruses, histopathology, new imaging techniques and new treatment modalities that include ultrasound-guided intratumor injections of ethanol and targeting chemotherapy. Not only will clinicians dealing with liver cancer patients benefit from this book, but also basic researchers will learn a great deal from the relevant chapters.