For many decades, viral hepatitis has been an important public health threat. Hepatitis viruses infect millions of people worldwide. Chronic infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV), HCV, or HDV are associated with cirrhosis and liver cancer, and are among the best-known infectious causes of cancer in humans. Viral hepatitis-associated liver cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, but there have been many important scientific discoveries and medical advances. We have therefore dedicated a special Issue of Gastroenterology to viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This special issue summarizes state of the art science, highlights knowledge gaps and unmet needs, and discusses remaining challenges and future directions. Although it is impossible to cover all topics, we hope this issue will be a valuable resource and blueprint for the medical and scientific community as we continue our progress against this global scourge.
We have assembled the foremost authorities as authors of articles on public health issues, disease progression, diagnostics, molecular virology, immunology, genomics and genetics, oncogenesis, prevention, and development of treatments for viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma. We are thankful for all the authors’ efforts and expertise—their collective contributions make this issue special. We were particularly delighted that Harvey Alter (the co-discoverer of HBV) and Francis Chisari (a towering scientist with immense contributions to the field) wrote an elegant and prescient introductory Perspective article that provides a unique, expert overview of this special issue and the field’s progress.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the staff of the Gastroenterology Journal including Laura Flecha, Kristine Novak, and Sarah Williamson for their professional and exceptional support during this project, and to Chris Lowe, the managing editor of Gastroenterology. We also are deeply appreciative of our medical illustrator, Tiffany DaVanzo, for providing informative, elegant figures for the articles—we hope these will be useful tools for lectures and medical education programs. Finally, we would like to thank the entire Board of Editors led by Richard Peek and Douglas Corley, for their collegiality, support, and advice as we continue the stewardship of the journal we are so proud to be part of.
Biographies
Footnotes
Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.