A Special Interview with Prof. Massimo Colombo, Chairman of EASL International Liver Foundation
On September 26th, 2022, the Editorial Office of Hepatoma Research was very honored and delighted to have a special interview with Prof. Massimo Colombo, Chairman of EASL International Liver Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland, and Director of the Liver Center of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, Italy. Meanwhile, Prof. Guang-Wen Cao, the Editor-in-Chief of Hepatoma Research and Chairman of the Department of Epidemiology from Second Military Medical University in Shanghai city of China, joined the special interview as an interviewer and had wonderful in-depth communication with Prof. Massimo Colombo.
In the exclusive interview, Prof. Massimo Colombo shared his opinions on the implementation of articulated sanitation interventions to reach the WHO goal of viral elimination in large countries in his published article titled "Viral hepatitis as a risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma". He suggested that we should massively test those born between 1949—1969, based on his recent study in Milan, Italy. Moreover, he proposed that the goal of hepatitis elimination by the end of 2030 is unattainable for several reasons, such as no programs for mass screening of viral hepatitis going forward, lack of financial support and a large number of infected who is unreachable, and so on. Prof. Massimo Colombo also shared his research interests, which will focus on early cholangiocarcinoma diagnosis, the natural history of hepatocellular carcinoma in SVR Visuals undergoing ablation or resection when they recur, and liver disease related to metabolic syndrome.
Questions for this interview:
Q1. You recently published a paper titled “Viral hepatitis as a risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma”, in which you mentioned that the implementation of articulated interventions of sanitation makes reaching the WHO goal of viral elimination more realistic in some small countries like Georgia or Iceland. However, it is even difficult to identify hepatitis carriers in large countries. What do you think these large countries can do to improve the situation?
Q2. Do you believe that HBV can be eradicated in the next decade? What is your opinion on the best option for this? Especially what kind of strategy can be applied to eradicate the infection of HBV in African countries and other developing countries?
Q3. In the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has put tremendous pressure on healthcare systems around the globe. Can you talk more about the impact of COVID-19 on hepatitis elimination? Do you think we can achieve the goal of eliminating hepatitis by 2030?
Q4. What are your research interests this year or over the next few years? Would you mind sharing it with us?
Personal Introduction of Prof. Massimo Colombo
Prof. Massimo Colombo
Prof. Massimo Colombo is the Director of the Liver Center of the IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and Chairman of the EASL International Liver Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland. He has also been a professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Milan for more than 25 years.
Prof. Massimo Colombo's research interests include the diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplantation. As a member of many professional societies including EASL, AASLD and several Italian societies, he is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 European Association Study Liver (EASL) Recognition Award for outstanding medical and scientific contributions, the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF) Distinguished Service Award, the Thanhauser Medal Award of the German Society of Gastroenterology and the Nelson Fausto Award of the International Liver Cancer Association(ILCA). Prof. Massimo Colombo was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Hepatology from 2005–2009 and is currently a member of the editorial boards of many hepatology journals. In September 2016, he was appointed Chairman of EASL International Liver Foundation. He has authored more than 600 original manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, with an H-index of 104 and more than 35,000 citations.
The Editorial Office of Hepatoma Research once again sincerely appreciates Prof. Massimo Colombo and Prof. Guang-Wen Cao for their strong support for this special interview. In the future, the Editorial Office of Hepatoma Research will continue to organize more special interviews and bring together more outstanding scientists worldwide to share academic achievements and professional experiences to promote future research.
