Non-invasive tests as effective as liver biopsy in predicting clinical outcomes in NAFLD patients

A composite endpoint of all-cause mortality, hepatocellular carcinoma, liver transplantation, or cirrhosis complications like ascites, variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, or progression to a MELD score ≥15 were the primary outcomes measured in the study.

The study results are:

• A total of 65 studies were eligible.
• There was available data on 2518 patients, constituting 44.7 % females and the median age of 54 years with biopsy-proven NAFLD from 25 studies.
• One thousand one hundred sixty-one patients had type 2 diabetes.
• The median follow-up was of 57 months.
• The composite endpoint was observed in 145 patients.
• There were differences between the trichotomised patient groups.
• The tAUC at five years were 0·72, 0.76, 0.74 and 0.70 for histology, LSM-VCTE, FIB-4, and NFS.

Based on the findings from the study, researchers interpreted that Simple non-invasive tests play a crucial role in providing prognostic information.

Similar to histology, these tests predict future clinical outcomes in NAFLD patients and could be an alternative to liver biopsy.

Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 funded the study.

Further reading:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(23)00141-3/fulltext#%20