fig1

Figure 1. Conceptual Pathway from Chronic Liver Injury to Cirrhosis and HCC. This schematic illustrates how persistent risk factors (e.g., viral hepatitis, alcohol, metabolic dysfunction) drive repeated hepatocyte injury and fibrosis, leading to either stable cirrhosis or decompensated disease. Concurrently, ongoing inflammation and compromised immune surveillance (including CAIDS and Immunodeficiency) propel dysplastic changes that culminate in hepatocellular carcinoma. The diagram underscores how immune dysfunction and persistent risk factors synergize to shape liver disease progression and HCC risk. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; CAIDS: chronic activation-induced dysfunctional state; MASLD: metabolic dysfunction-associated liver disease.