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The 30th meeting of the JSHBPS, themed “The Second Opening of Japan on the Way to a Bright Future”, is our first domestic meeting organized completely in English. Over the last 30 years, several strategies have been undertaken to battle hepatobiliary malignancies, and collaboration with foreign researchers is now more important than ever.

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IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis is recognized as a biliary manifestation of IgG4-related disease, and differential diagnosis from primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma is sometimes difficult. Kamisawa and colleagues developed consensus guidelines using the modified Delphi approach. The guidelines explain methods for accurate diagnosis, and safe and appropriate treatment of IgG4-related sclerosing cholangitis.

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In this multicenter study, Murase and colleagues analyzed patients with biliary atresia who underwent either open or laparoscopic Kasai portoenterostomy. The laparoscopic procedure was associated with several favorable perioperative outcomes. The difference in surgical approach was not a significant independent predictor, and only age at surgery was a poor prognostic factor.

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Russolillo and colleagues validated the usefulness of the ALICE model, based on the serum albumin and indocyanine green retention rate, in predicting postoperative outcomes after resection for HCC. The efficacy of the ALICE model was comparable with that of the albumin-bilirubin grade and better than that of the Child-Turcotte-Pugh score.