Representational file photo.
London: Two international studies have highlighted the potential of blood tests and non-invasive imaging to diagnose metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease and assess liver fibrosis, reducing the need for biopsies.
Published in The Lancet and Nature Medicine under the international LITMUS research program, the studies involved more than 1,850 patients and assessed non-invasive diagnostic methods.
The findings showed that SOMAscan protein analysis, magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), FibroScan, and blood tests including ELF and ADAPT performed well in detecting and assessing advanced fibrosis.
One study also found that gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) could distinguish between fibrosis stages, outperforming the widely used FIB-4 index in some assessments.
Researchers said the findings support a stepwise approach, starting with simple blood tests and using specialized scans when needed to identify patients requiring referral to liver specialists.
The studies are significant as metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease affects about one-third of adults worldwide.
However, researchers said further studies are needed before these tests can be widely adopted as alternatives to liver biopsies.
