In 2018, the World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG) has published the 12^th issue which containing 8 articles including 1 review, and 7 original articles contributed by scientists worldwide. Among these comprehensive articles are (1) “Review article: Update on current and emergent data on hepatopulmonary syndrome”, a review by Evangelos Cholongitas, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, et al from First Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Laiko General Hospital, Greece; (2) “Cell culture-adaptive mutations in hepatitis C virus promote viral production by enhancing viral replication and release”, a basic study by Jun Cheng, MD, PhD, Professor, et al from Center of Liver Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, China; and (3) “Model combining pre-transplant tumor biomarkers and tumor size shows more utility in predicting hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence and survival than the BALAD models”, a retrospective cohort study by Lewis R Roberts, MB ChB, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Consultant, et al from Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, United States, etc. We invite you to peruse all 8 articles in this issue, as they present the latest research progress/findings and provide insightful comments in gastroenterology and 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 24, Issue 12, March 28, 2018.

Figure 1 The cover of the issue. Editorial board member of World Journal of Gastroenterology, José Manuel Ramia, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 19002, Spain

We encourage gastroenterologists and hepatologists worldwide to submit manuscripts to the WJG 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.