Hepatoma Research

Hepatoma Research focuses on research related to liver cancer, biliary tract cancers, and liver diseases. It covers topics such as their occurrence, development, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The journal publishes high-quality basic, translational, clinical, and population-based studies across the continuum of liver oncology and related disciplines.

The scope of the journal includes the following areas:

• Liver cancer (primary focus)
Liver cancer, with a focus on hepatocellular carcinoma, including etiologically and biologically defined disease subtypes associated with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, immune dysregulation, and viral evolution.
Development and validation of diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for liver cancer, including molecular, imaging, and multi-parameter biomarkers relevant to early detection, risk stratification, and assessment of treatment response.
Therapeutic strategies and clinical management of liver cancer, including basic and clinical research on animal models, liver transplantation, surgical and interventional therapies, molecular targeted therapy, immunotherapy, combination treatment strategies, treatment-related drugs and complications, and the clinical translation of emerging laboratory discoveries.

• Biliary tract cancers
Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying biliary tract cancers, particularly intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, with relevance to liver oncology.
Diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive biomarkers for biliary tract cancers.
Clinical management and therapeutic approaches for biliary tract cancers, including surgical, interventional, systemic, and translational treatment strategies.

• Chronic liver diseases associated with liver cancer risk
Chronic liver diseases that are associated with an increased risk of liver cancer include chronic viral hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-related liver disease, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and immune-mediated liver diseases.
Risk stratification, surveillance strategies, and preventive interventions for liver cancer in patients with high-risk liver diseases.
Translational studies linking chronic liver disease biology to hepatocarcinogenesis and early malignant transformation.

• Epidemiology and public health
Descriptive epidemiological studies of liver cancer and biliary tract cancers, including an analysis of time trends in incidence, mortality, survival, and disease burden (e.g. DALY).
Clinical follow-up or survival studies aimed at evaluating or investigating the prognostic predictive model and the prognostic factors of liver cancer.
Population-based investigations of chronic liver diseases as risk factors for liver cancer.
Predictive risk modeling, public health strategies, and active prevention of liver cancer and biliary tract cancers. Large-scale cohort studies and randomized controlled clinical trials are particularly welcome.