Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, has become a major global health problem and is responsible for a steadily increasing number of cancer-related deaths. Although the risk factors for HCC development are well known and great advances have been made through HBV vaccinations, direct-acting antivirals for HCV treatment, and aflatoxin eradication programs, the overall incidence and mortality rates of HCC are still rising. To tackle the burden of HCC, it is essential to understand the principle molecular and cellular processes as well as fundamental clinical challenges. This book provides an overview on several important disease aspects. Chapter 1 reviews recent studies assessing the potential cellular origins of HCC. Chapter 2 describes the newly discovered regulatory roles of the tumor microenvironment on tumor growth and progression. Chapters 3 and 4 outline the most commonly used in vitro systems and animal models of chronic liver disease and HCC in detail. Chapter 5 provides an overview of metabolic reprogramming and dysregulation of lipid metabolism as a newly recognized hallmark of HCC. Chapter 6 details the currently accepted standards and challenges for the surgical management of HCC, while Chapter 7 provides an overview of the recent developments in the field of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Chapter 8 discusses multidrug resistance to chemotherapy and potential approaches to overcome this clinical obstacle. The book, written by experts from several countries, addresses each topic in sophisticated detail. It will be a valuable resource for clinicians and investigators who are interested in HCC.

With the development of guidance technology and ablation equipment, ablative procedures have emerged as important loco-regional alternatives to surgical resection for recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma (rHCC) patients. Currently, ablation modalities used in clinical practice mainly include radiofrequency ablation (RFA), microwave ablation (MWA), laser ablation (LA), cryoablation (CRA), high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), and irreversible electroporation (IRE). Accumulated comparative data of ablation versus surgical resection reveal noninferior responses and outcomes but superior adverse effects. Moreover, studies demonstrate that ablation may serve as an excellent procedure for rHCC given its exact minimal invasiveness and immune modulation. We focus on the current status of ablation in clinical practice for rHCC and discuss new research in the field, including ablation combined with these other modalities, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

SET domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7 (SETD7) belongs to the protein lysine methyltransferase family and can catalyze the monomethylation of histone H3K4, which plays a vital role in the regulation of cell cycle, cell differentiation, DNA damage response and chromatin remodeling through K/R-S/T-K (K is lysine residue) sites and the recognition of substrates mediated by SET, i-SET, and n-SET domains and electrostatic action. SETD7 also can regulate the transcription of several genes including β-catenin, Cullin l and lin-28 homolog A (LIN28A), etc. In addition, the abnormal expression of SETD7 can promote the proliferation, migration, invasion of tumor cells, predict the poor prognosis of tumor patients, and may be a potential target for tumor therapy. This paper reviews the structure of SETD7, its role in tumor genesis and development, and the current research progress of relevant targeted drugs to explore its regulatory mechanism in tumor genesis and development and the prospect of targeted therapy.