Sparrelid E, et al. - In order to assess the mechanisms behind the unparalleled growth of the future liver remnant (FLR) linked to associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS), researchers examined liver regenerative markers in patients subjected to ALPPS. Findings suggested IL-6 and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) as the early mediators of hypertrophy after stage 1 in the ALPPS procedure. Patients subjected to ALPPS showed a correlation between the peak HGF plasma level and the degree of FLR growth.