Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC)ï¾—the main primary liver carcinomas in adultsï¾—are major causes of disability and death worldwide, responsible for over 700,000 new cases and a nearly equal number of deaths each year. HCC occurs in greater numbers and ICC has a somewhat worse prognosis, but once either tumor is identified, life expectancy is short. Treatment options for either HCC or ICC are few; successful treatment depends almost totally on complete surgical resection, which is possible only if the tumors are identified at an early stage of development. However, early diagnosis is inefficient and imprecise from both clinical and pathological standpoints. In this session we will discuss the latest advances in our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of liver cancer and how the functional genomics has improved the classification and prognostic predictions HCC patients. We will also highlight how the enhanced understanding of the underlying biology of HCC development at the molecular level has provided new treatment strategies.
Special Session: AACR/International Liver Cancer Association: Pathogenesis and Treatment of Human Liver Cancer Cancer

Identification of driver genes in human HCC; Snorri S. Thorgeirsson. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Role of miRNAs in human HCC; Xin Wei Wang. National Cancer Inst., Bethesda, MD

Tumor dormancy and oncogene addiction in HCC; Dean W. Felsher. Stanford Univ. School of Medicine, Stanford, CA

Diagnosis and treatment of human HCC in the new millennium; Lewis R. Roberts. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN,