Foreword

It is our great pleasure to welcome the attendees to the Third Asia-Pacific Cholangiocarcinoma conference to Taipei on March 15–16, 2019. Cholangiocarcinoma is an orphan cancer in the West, but an important cancer in Asia that often presents late and has a dismal outcome. The etiology of this cancer varies according to geographic location and this may lead to clinical, genomic and immunologic heterogeneity. Global partnership between key stakeholders will be critical towards increasing our understanding of this cancer and improving the clinical outcome of patients. This event is sponsored by the International Cholangiocarcinoma Research Network (ICRN; https://cholangiocarcinoma.org/international-cholangiocarcinoma-research-network/). ICRN is a subsidiary of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation and is a global network of leading cancer centers that are working together to improve knowledge of this cancer. We are proud to host attendees from several Asian countries, Europe and USA to this important event. This is a multi-disciplinary conference that includes clinical and basic science researchers, clinicians, nurses, patients and their advocates. For the first time, we will be including original research abstracts and poster presentations during this conference. It is our privilege to present these abstracts in Hepatobiliary Surgery and Nutrition (HBSN) and we look forward to a productive partnership with this important journal.

Yours sincerely,