for the EASL Panel of Experts on HCC

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a neoplasm the inci-dence of which is increasing worldwide, but striking geogra-phical differences are observed for both risk factors and occurrence [1]. HCC represents more than 5 % of all cancers and the estimated annual number of cases exceeds 500 000. It mostly affects patients with liver cirrhosis and currently represents their most common cause of death. Its clinical relevance and the existence of several diagnostic and ther-apeutic controversies explain the huge interest raised by this neoplasm. This prompted the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) to organize a Monothematic Conference on Clinical Management of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, which was held in Barcelona in September 2000. During the meeting, a panel of international experts (Appendix A) met to prepare the present document tha