In 2019, the World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG) has published the 8^th issue which containing 12 articles including 2 reviews, 9 original articles, and 1 case report, contributed by scientists worldwide. Among these comprehensive articles are (1) “Current and future pharmacological therapies for managing cirrhosis and its complications”, a Review by Ameet Dhar, BSc, MBBS, MRCP, PhD, Consultant Hepatologist, et al from Liver Unit/Division of Integrative Systems Medicine and Digestive Disease, Imperial College London, United Kingdom; (2) “Dbx2 exhibits a tumor-promoting function in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines via regulating Shh-Gli1 signaling”, a Basic Study by Xu Zhu, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, et al from Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Interventional Therapy, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, China; and (3) “Women on the liver transplantation waitlist are at increased risk of hospitalization compared to men”, a Retrospective Study by Jennifer C Lai, MD, MBA, Associate Professor, et al from Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of California - San Francisco, United States, etc. We invite you to peruse all 12 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 25, Issue 8, February 28, 2019.

Figure 1 The cover of the issue. Editorial board member of World Journal of Gastroenterology, Yoshihiro Ikura, DSc, MD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Department of Pathology, Takatsuki General Hospital, Takatsuki 569-1192, Osaka, Japan.

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.

We invited the readers to download and read the E-Journal of this issue.