Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) used to be regarded as a rare disease. However, the increasing numbers of chronic HCC carriers in the U.S. and subsequent increased incidences of HCC seen in most large medical centers means that it is no longer an uncommon disease for gastroenterologists or oncologists to encounter and its incidence and epidemiology are changing. During this exciting time in the field of HCC basic science and clinical management, many changes are simultaneously occurring at multiple levels of our understanding and management of the disease. Suddenly, there are several new...