Welcome Message for the Liver Cancer Summit 2020

Welcome to the 2020 Liver Cancer Summit, the home of liver cancer research, which will address the latest developments in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) that you as a practicing physician and/or scientist should know. In our welcome message we have to let you know that this year, for the first time, this successful meeting will have a new title “Liver Cancer Summit” instead of the well-known “HCC Summit” to reflect the growing preclinical and clinical data and rapidly changing treatment landscape of CCA in addition to HCC. This year the Liver Cancer Summit will be held in Prague/Czech Republic.

The biology of liver cancer remained obscure for many years. However, over the last period of time, an intense preclinical research shed new light on the molecular mechanisms involved in the malignant transformation of hepatic cells (mainly hepatocytes and cholangiocytes) and in their interaction with the stroma and immune system. In addition, new risk factors for liver cancer has been described and need to be considered. Moreover, clinical trials have identified novel perspectives and strategies for the accurate diagnosis, management and treatment for HCC and CCA. While these developments offer many new opportunities for your patients, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track and timely implement these changes into daily clinical practice and research projects. This multidisciplinary meeting is organized to provide an update on the current knowledge and future directions on the study of HCC and CCA, and its significance under a clinical point of view. Also, the aim of this multidisciplinary summit is to bring physicians and scientists together and promote the exchange of clinical knowledge, the discussion of controversial issues and the establishment of collaborations.

The program will feature state of the art lectures on updated key aspects of HCC and CCA by renowned experts and rising stars covering a broad spectrum of topics, such as:
· Preclinical research on the mechanisms of malignant transformation of hepatic cells and of cell-to-cell interactions
· Basic and translational research on the biology, genetics, and immunology of HCC and CCA
· New developments in HCC and CCA management, including new targeted agents and recent data and implications for immunotherapy of HCC and CCA
· Personalized medicine
· The new challenge of microbiota and liver cancer
· Novel biomarker concepts in HCC and CCA
· Discussions on clinical trials between academia, pharma and regulatory agencies

Panel discussion with experts will open a discussion on the new directions and avenues for research and clinical practice. Special emphasis will be placed on involving young clinicians and scientists, who will have the opportunity to gain a compact overview of the field and build new networks by easily getting in touch with advanced scientists and key opinion leaders. The meeting offers many opportunities to share your research results (selected abstracts will be presented as oral presentation, poster blast, poster) and clinical ideas and to get new inspiration for your own career.

We kindly invite you to come to Prague and get involved into the future of Liver Cancer.
Sincerely,
The Scientific Organizing Committee
Jesus Banales, Valerie Paradis and Lorenza Rimassa