In 2017, the World Journal of Hepatology (WJH) has published the 1^st issue which containing 7 articles contributed by scientists worldwide. Among these comprehensive articles are (1) “Disease monitoring of hepatocellular carcinoma through metabolomics”, a Review by Roniel Cabrera, MD, MS, et al from Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Section of Hepatobiliary Diseases, University of Florida, United States; (2) “Ultrasound shear wave elastography and liver fibrosis: A Prospective Multicenter Study”, an Original Article by Joyce Anyona Sande, MBCHB, et al from Department of Radiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Kenya, etc. We invite you to peruse all 7 articles in this issue, as they present the latest research progress/findings and provide insightful comments in hepatology that will guide basic research and clinical practice in these fields.

This journal is an open-access journal which allows free immediate access to all full-text articles. For details, please visit: Volume 9, Issue 1, January 8, 2017.

Figure 1 The cover of the issue. Editorial Board Member of World Journal of Hepatology, Dr. Ferenc Sipos, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Senior Scientist, 2^nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, 1088 Budapest, Hungary

The WJH is a leading academic journal devoted to reporting the latest, cutting-edge research progress and findings of basic research and clinical practice in the field of hepatology. It was launched on October 31, 2009 and is published three issues per month (36 issues annually) by BPG, the world's leading professional clinical medical journal publishing company.

We encourage hepatologists worldwide to submit manuscripts to the WJH describing their original basic or clinical research findings that are of high academic value and which report new diagnostic techniques or summarize their treatment experiences.

We invited the readers to download and read the E-Journal of this issue, at: http://www.wjgnet.com/1948-5182/e-journal.htm.