In 2017, the World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG) has published the 46^th issue which containing 16 articles including 2 reviews, 11 original articles, 2 case reports and 1 letter contributed by scientists worldwide. Among these comprehensive articles are (1) “Relation of the IGF/IGF1R system to autophagy in colitis and colorectal cancer”, a review by  Ferens Sipos, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, et al from Immunology and Medicine, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweis University, Hungary; (2) “Prevalence of- and risk factors for work disability in Dutch patients with inflammatory bowel disease”, a retrospective cohort study by Eleonora AM Festen, MD, PhD, et al from Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Groningen and University Medical Centre Groningen, Netherlands; and (3) “Endoscopic ultrasound staging for early esophageal cancer: Are we denying patients neoadjuvant chemo-radiation?”, a retrospective study by  Jacques P Fontaine, MD, Associate Member, et al from Department Thoracic Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, United States, etc. We invite you to peruse all 16 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.

Figure 1 The cover of the issue. Editorial board member of World Journal of Gastroenterology, Antonio Macrì, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Human Pathology, University of Messina, Messina 98125, Italy

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.