AACR/NHRI Joint Conference: hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma: novel approaches.
This international meeting, co-sponsored by the National Health Research Institutes of Taiwan (NHRI) and the AmericanAssociation for Cancer Research (AACR), was dedicated to two pioneering scientists, Juei-Low Sung (Koo Foundation, Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center, Taipei, Taiwan) and Kwang-Juei Lo (Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan). The meeting focused on various aspects of viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the relation between the two. Topics ranged from epidemiological studies, identification of environmental and genetic risk factors, mechanisms of pathogenesis, and research presentations on standard and novel treatment modalities. Highlights included discussions on adefovir dipivoxil (Gilead Sciences), emtricitabine (FTC; Triangle Pharmaceuticals), clevudine (L-FMAU; Triangle Pharmaceuticals/Abbott/Bukwang Pharmaceutical Industries), entecavir (Bristol-Myers Squibb), and especially L-isomer nucleoside analogs, for use in hepatitis B virus (HBV) therapy. Mention was also made of the potential roles of histamine and mycophenolic acid in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, and of polyphenols and thalidomide for HCC.
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University of Connecticut Health Center, Division of Gastroenterology - Hepatology, Room AM -044, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06030-0001, USA. wu@nso.uchc.edu