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Hepatocelullar Carcinoma
Hepatocelullar Carcinoma
Hepatocelullar Carcinoma
Preface
Hepatocellular Carcinoma
In North America and Europe over the last 10 years or so, hepatocellular
carcinoma (HCC) has become a much more common disease than in the past and
is demanding more attention from clinicians. Along with this increase in in-
cidence has come the realization that very little was known about HCC. A decade
ago there were very few randomized controlled trials of therapy, the efficacy of
screening was unknown (though it was presumed to be present), and little was
known about the pathogenesis of this disease. Staging systems were rudimen-
tary and had been developed without the appropriate statistical tools. Since then,
the medical literature dealing with HCC has expanded considerably, and many
studies have been conducted with increasing rigor; consequently, there is now
some solid information in at least some aspects of this disease.
HCC has become very topical. The first international consensus conference on
HCC management was in 2001, sponsored by the European Association for the
Study of the Liver. A follow-up conference is due in 2005. In 2003 the American
Association for the Study of Liver Diseases hosted a single-topic research
symposium on HCC, and in 2004 the National Institutes of Health also held a
research symposium on HCC. This issue of the Clinics in Liver Disease thus
continues a trend of highlighting the importance of this disease for patients who
have underlying liver disease.
This issue attempts to present some of the new information about HCC that
has emerged over the last few years. Dr. Bosch and his colleagues describe the
1089-3261/05/$ see front matter D 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cld.2005.03.001 liver.theclinics.com
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