Systematic review with meta-analysis: the diagnostic accuracy of transient elastography for the staging of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Portal hypertension is the main driver of liver stiffness in advanced liver cirrhosis

Liver stiffness (LS) is a novel non-invasive parameter widely used in clinical hepatology. LS correlates with liver fibrosis stage in non-cirrhotic patients. In cirrhotic patients it also shows good correlation with Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG). Our aim was to assess the contribution of liver fibrosis and portal hypertension to LS in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. Eighty-one liver transplant candidates with liver cirrhosis of various aetiologies underwent direct HVPG and LS measurement by 2D shear-wave elastography (Aixplorer Multiwave, Supersonic Imagine, France). Liver collagen content was assessed in the explanted liver as collagen proportionate area (CPA) and hydroxyproline content (HP). The studied cohort included predominantly patients with Child-Pugh class B and C (63/81, 77.8%), minority of patients were Child-Pugh A (18/81, 22.2%). LS showed the best correlation with HVPG (r=0.719, p< 0.001), correlation of LS with CPA (r=0.441, p< 0.001) and HP/Amino Acids (r=0.414, p< 0.001) was weaker. Both variables expressing liver collagen content showed good correlation with each other (r=0.574, p<0.001). Multiple linear regression identified the strongest association between LS and HVPG (p < 0.0001) and weaker association of LS with CPA (p = 0.01883). Stepwise modelling showed minimal increase in r2 after addition of CPA to HVPG (0.5073 vs. 0.5513). The derived formula expressing LS value formation is: LS = 2.48 + (1.29 x HVPG) + (0.26 x CPA). We conclude that LS is determined predominantly by HVPG in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis whereas contribution of liver collagen content is relatively low.

Asociación Mexicana de Hepatología A.C. Clinical guideline on hepatitis B

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection continues to be a worldwide public health problem. In Mexico, at least three million adults are estimated to have acquired hepatitis B (total hepatitis B core antibody [anti-HBc]-positive), and of those, 300,000 active carriers (hepatitis B surface antigen [HBsAg]-positive) could require treatment. Because HBV is preventable through vaccination, its universal application should be emphasized. HBV infection is a major risk factor for developing hepatocellular carcinoma. Semi-annual liver ultrasound and serum alpha-fetoprotein testing favor early detection of that cancer and should be carried out in all patients with chronic HBV infection, regardless of the presence of advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Currently, nucleoside/nucleotide analogues that have a high barrier to resistance are the first-line therapies.

EASL-ALEH 2015 algorithm for the use of transient elastography in treatment-naive patients with hepatitis B: An independent validation

Various non-invasive methods have been evaluated in chronic hepatitis B, but none of them have been fully validated for the assessment of liver fibrosis. The issued EASL-ALEH 2015 guidelines provide detailed algorithms based on LSM and ALT serum levels. The aim of our study was to validate the diagnostic accuracy of this algorithm and to better understand discrepancies. Four hundred and thirteen patients from 3 centres were retrospectively included. All included patients were classified for fibrosis stage according to results of a liver biopsy. The overall diagnostic value was expressed with AUROCs given with 95% confidence intervals for the diagnostic targets. For each diagnostic target, optimal cut-offs were determined according to the Youden method. For the population of patients with ALT<N (n = 65), the AUROCs of TE were 0.75 (0.62-0.88) and 0.72 (0.56-0.88) for F ≥ 2 and F ≥ 3 diagnostic targets. Taking the EASL cut-offs, the prevalence of significant fibrosis was 8%, 38% and 67% when LSM was <6kPa, between 6 and 9 kPa or >9 kPa, respectively. For patients with ALT>N but ≤5N (n = 306), AUROCs of transient elastography were 0.79 (0.73-0.84) and 0.84 (0.75-0.92) for F ≥ 2 and F ≥ 3 diagnostic targets. The prevalence of significant fibrosis was, respectively, 15%, 52% and 85% when LSM was <6kPa, between 6 and 12 kPa or >12 kPa. Our study independently validates the EASL-ALEH algorithm based on ALT levels and LSM assessed by transient elastography.

Different Performance of Liver Stiffness Measurement According to Etiology and Outcome for the Prediction of Liver-Related Events

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography (TE) has shown promising results for prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and hepatic decompensation in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). However, whether prognostic performance of TE differs according to etiology or type of outcome remains further clarification.

METHODS

Performance of LSM for the prediction of HCC and hepatic decompensation was analyzed in a cohort of 4026 patients with asymptomatic CLD.

RESULTS

During median 4.5 years of follow-up (range 3.0-6.2 years), liver-related events (LRE) were observed in 196 patients (166 with HCC, 45 with hepatic decompensation, and 15 with both). In the multivariate analysis, LSM was independent factor associated with LRE and showed high AUROC (0.78). When stratified by type of outcome and etiology of liver disease, LSM showed high AUROC for the prediction of HCC for patients with non-viral hepatitis (0.89), while it showed relatively low AUROC for the prediction of HCC for patients with viral hepatitis (0.75). For the prediction of hepatic decompensation, LSM showed high AUROC for patients with both viral- and non-viral hepatitis (0.90, 0.90, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

LSM showed powerful prognostic role for the prediction of LRE in patients with CLD. Notably, HCC risk was not negligible in patients with viral hepatitis who showed LSM value < 10 kPa, indicating watchful attention for HCC is still needed for viral hepatitis patients with low LSM.

Systematic review: Accuracy of the enhanced liver fibrosis test for diagnosing advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The rising incidence of chronic liver disease (CLD) has increased the need for early recognition. This systematic review assesses the diagnostic accuracy of the enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test in cases of advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis due to multiple etiologies in at-risk populations.

METHODS

Studies evaluating the ELF accuracy in identifying advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, defined as METAVIR stage F ≥ 3 and F = 4 or equivalent, in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcohol liver disease (ALD), or viral hepatitis were included. Liver biopsy was used as the reference standard. Medline and Embase databases were searched. The QUADAS-2 tool was used as a framework to assess risk of bias and applicability. The area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) was extracted as a summary measure of diagnostic accuracy.

RESULTS

Thirty-six studies were included: 11 hepatitis C, 4 hepatitis B, 9 NAFLD, 2 ALD, and 10 mixed. The ELF test showed good diagnostic performance in detecting advanced fibrosis in patients with viral hepatitis (AUROC 0.69 to 0.98) and excellent performance in NAFLD (AUROC 0.78 to 0.97) and ALD (AUROC from 0.92 to 0.94). There is also evidence of good diagnostic performance for detecting cirrhosis in patients with viral hepatitis (AUROC 0.63 to 0.99), good performance in NAFLD (AUROC 0.85 to 0.92), and excellent performance in patients with ALD (AUROC 0.93 to 0.94).

CONCLUSION

This systematic review supports the use of the ELF test across a range of CLD as a possible alternative to liver biopsy in selected cases.

The role of elastography in viral hepatitis and autoimmune hepatitis

The prognosis of chronic liver diseases, which represent a major public health problem, is mainly linked to the extent and progression of liver fibrosis and the subsequent risk of developing cirrhosis and related complications, mainly hepatocellular carcinoma. During the past decade many noninvasive methods and in particular electrographic techniques, have been developed to reduce the need for liver biopsy in staging fibrosis and to overcome whenever possible its limitations, mainly: invasiveness, costs, low reproducibility and poor acceptance by patients. The aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive review of the role of elastography techniques in viral chronic liver diseases and autoimmune hepatitis, with the focus on the possible advantages and limitations of these techniques and on their diagnostic accuracy in predicting the stage of liver fibrosis.

Brazilian Society of Hepatology and Brazilian College of Radiology practice guidance for the use of elastography in liver diseases

In 2015 the European Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (EASL) and the Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio del Hígado (ALEH) published a guideline for the use of non-invasive markers of liver disease. At that time, this guideline focused on the available data regarding ultrasonic-related elastography methods. Since then, much has been published, including new data about XL probe use in transient elastography, magnetic resonance elastography, and non-invasive liver steatosis evaluation. In order to draw evidence-based guidance concerning the use of elastography for non-invasive assessment of fibrosis and steatosis in different chronic liver diseases, the Brazilian Society of Hepatology (SBH) and the Brazilian College of Radiology (CBR) sponsored a single-topic meeting on October 4th, 2019, at São Paulo, Brazil. The aim was to establish specific recommendations regarding the use of imaging-related non-invasive technology to diagnose liver fibrosis and steatosis based on the discussion of evidence-based topics by an organizing committee of experts. It was submitted online to all SBH and CBR members. The present document is the final version of the manuscript that supports the use of this new technology as an alternative to liver biopsy.

Efficacy of the association liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy for the treatment of solitary huge hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective single-center study

BACKGROUND

The feasibility of association liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) for solitary huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, maximal diameter ≥ 10 cm) remains uncertain. This study aims to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of ALPPS for patients with solitary huge HCC.

METHODS

Twenty patients with solitary huge HCC who received ALPPS during January 2017 and December 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. The oncological characteristics of contemporaneous patients who underwent one-stage resection and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) were compared using propensity score matching (PSM).

RESULTS

All patients underwent complete two-staged ALPPS. The median future liver remnant from the ALPPS-I stage to the ALPPS-II stage increased by 64.5% (range = 22.3-221.9%) with a median interval of 18 days (range = 10-54 days). The 90-day mortality rate after the ALPPS-II stage was 5%. The 1- and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 70.0% and 57.4%, respectively, whereas the 1- and 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 60.0% and 43.0%, respectively. In the one-to-one PSM analysis, the long-term survival of patients who received ALPPS was significantly better than those who received TACE (OS, P = 0.007; PFS, P = 0.011) but comparable with those who underwent one-stage resection (OS, P = 0.463; PFS, P = 0.786).

CONCLUSION

The surgical outcomes of ALPPS were superior to those of TACE and similar to those of one-stage resection. ALPPS is a safe and effective treatment strategy for patients with unresectable solitary huge HCC.

Blood reelin in the progression of chronic liver disease

PURPOSE

Reelin is an extracellular matrix protein originally found to be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent findings indicate, that reelin may also play an important role in the process of liver fibrosis as well as in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Against this background, the aim of our study was to explore alterations in blood reelin levels in different stages of chronic liver diseases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We analyzed blood samples of patients with chronic liver disease without liver fibrosis (n ​= ​25), with liver fibrosis (n ​= ​36), with liver cirrhosis (n ​= ​74), with HCC (n ​= ​26) as well as of healthy controls (n ​= ​15). Blood reelin concentrations were determined utilizing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

Blood reelin levels were significantly elevated in patients who had liver fibrosis or cirrhosis compared to patients without liver fibrosis and healthy controls (13.9 (10.2-21.1) ng/ml vs. 11.2 (8.8-16.8) ng/ml, p ​= ​0.032). Importantly, patients with HCC displayed significantly higher reelin concentrations compared to patients with liver cirrhosis alone (27.0 (17.3-35.9) ng/ml vs. 16.6 (11.0-22.7) ng/ml, p ​< ​0.001). Blood reelin was not relevantly linked to liver function, inflammation and etiology of liver disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrate, that blood reelin levels are altered in different stages of chronic liver disease, which makes reelin a potential biomarker in this setting. This may be especially relevant with regard to its use as an additional tumor marker of HCC.

Diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B-related liver disease using ultrasound with wave-number domain attenuation coefficient

BACKGROUND/AIMS

The importance of identifying the stage of liver fibrosis has motivated the development of non-invasive methods. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of ultrasound analysis involving the wave-number domain attenuation coefficient (W-Ac) in the non-invasive quantitative differentiation of liver fibrosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a prospective study of inpatients with hepatitis B-related liver disease treated between October 2016 and January 2018. In ultrasound, the echo from the near-field liver tissue was selected as the reference signal. The W-Ac of liver tissues was based on the fast Fourier transform of the acquired post-beamforming radio frequency signals. These values were compared with fibrosis from biopsy METAVIR score results. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve tested the W-Ac method.

RESULTS

A total of 46 patients were enrolled, including 27 males and 19 females. Fibrosis was stage F0 in 12 patients, F1 in 13 patients, F2 in 10 patients, F3 in 7 patients, and F4 in 4 patients. W-Ac increased with the progression of liver fibrosis up to stage F3. There were differences between F0 and F4 stages (p<0.001) and between any 2 stages of fibrosis (p<0.05), except for stages F3 and F4. There was a significant correlation between W-Ac and METAVIR score (r=0.795, p<0.001). W-Ac differed between non-fibrosis (F0) and fibrosis (F1-F4) groups (p<0.001) and in the normal (F0), early fibrosis (F1-2), and late fibrosis groups (F3-4) (p<0.001). ROC area under the curve was 0.890, and at a cut-off of 0.12153, sensitivity was 0.706 and specificity was 0.830.

CONCLUSIONS

W-Ac allowed assessment of liver fibrosis in clinical practice.

Chronic inflammation involves CCL11 and IL-13 to facilitate the development of liver cirrhosis and fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B virus infection

The pathogenesis involving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in the context of chronic HBV (CHB) virus infection requires to be understood for developing improved modalities of diagnosis and treatment. We retrospectively investigated the association between NAFLD and CHB virus infection in the context of liver fibrosis. Among the 522 consecutive CHB patients who underwent transient elastography between years 2013 and 2016, we studied 455 subjects in the current investigation. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) scores were generally higher in patients with steatosis and fibrosis or cirrhosis. Antiviral treatment had significantly reduced the hepatitis B virus (HBV) viral load. Other liver function markers showed a significant positive correlation with both CAP and LSM scores. Plasma IL-13 was independently associated with increased CAP score where every increase of 1 unit of IL-13 was associated with an increase in CAP score by 0.98 unit. CCL11 was independently associated with LSM with every increase of CCL11 by a unit that, in turn, was associated with an increase of LSM score. We found that there was a high concurrence of NAFLD among patients with CHB virus infection. The presence of metabolic syndrome and chronic inflammation in CHB virus-infected patients were two independent factors that led to the progression of liver cirrhosis, with IL-13 playing the key role in linking the metabolic with the inflammatory components.

Elastography for Longitudinal Assessment of Liver Fibrosis after Antiviral Therapy: A Review

Chronic hepatitis B or C viral infection is a common cause of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Fibrosis regression can be achieved after long-term antiviral therapy (AVT). Monitoring of dynamic changes in liver fibrosis after treatment is essential for establishing prognosis and formulation of a follow-up surveillance program. Routine surveillance of fibrosis after AVT by liver biopsy, the gold standard for fibrosis assessment, is hindered by its invasive nature, sampling error and observer variability. Elastography is a noninvasive quantitative alternative that has been widely used and validated for the staging of liver fibrosis prior to treatment. Recently, increasing research interest has been focused on the role of elastography in longitudinal assessment of liver fibrosis after AVT. In this review, the basic principles, acquisition techniques, diagnostic performances, and strengths and limitations of ultrasound elastography and magnetic resonance elastography are presented. Emerging evidence regarding the use of elastography techniques for the monitoring of liver fibrosis after AVT is summarized. Current challenges and future directions are also discussed, designed to optimize the application of these techniques in clinical practice.

Fatty liver is associated with advanced fibrosis but does not predict adverse outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Hepatic steatosis is increasingly common and has been implicated in progression of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. We aimed to investigate the impact of hepatic steatosis on liver fibrosis and clinical outcomes in CHB patients. Consecutive CHB patients who underwent transient elastography between 2013 and 2017 at a tertiary hospital were included in this longitudinal cohort study. Presence of hepatic steatosis was defined as controlled attenuation parameter, CAP ≥ 248 dB/m, while advanced liver fibrosis was defined as liver stiffness measurement, LSM ≥ 9.4 kPa. Cardiovascular events, liver-related complications, malignancy and mortality and a composite of these outcomes were evaluated with Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression. Our study cohort included 614 patients with median follow-up of 45 (32-63) months. Hepatic steatosis was present in 294 patients (47.9%), and advanced liver fibrosis was present in 127 patients (21.0%). Presence of hepatic steatosis (OR: 1.956, 95% CI: 1.250-3.060) and diabetes mellitus (OR: 3.507, 95% CI: 2.069-5.944) was independently associated with advanced fibrosis. Advanced fibrosis was independently associated with composite outcome (HR: 2.496, 95% CI: 1.352-4.606), liver-related complications (HR: 3.765, 95% CI: 1.380-10.271) and mortality (HR: 3.632, 95% CI: 1.342-9.826), but not cardiovascular events and malignancy. Hepatic steatosis was not associated with any adverse outcomes. We conclude that hepatic steatosis is common and associated with advanced fibrosis in CHB patients. Unlike advanced fibrosis, hepatic steatosis does not predict adverse outcomes in CHB patients.

Noninvasive imaging assessment of portal hypertension

Portal hypertension (PH) is a spectrum of complications of chronic liver disease (CLD) and cirrhosis, with manifestations including ascites, gastroesophageal varices, splenomegaly, hypersplenism, hepatic hydrothorax, hepatorenal syndrome, hepatopulmonary syndrome and portopulmonary hypertension. PH can vary in severity and is diagnosed via invasive hepatic venous pressure gradient measurement (HVPG), which is considered the reference standard. Accurate diagnosis of PH and assessment of severity are highly relevant as patients with clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) are at higher risk for developing acute variceal bleeding and mortality. In this review, we discuss current and upcoming noninvasive imaging methods for diagnosis and assessment of severity of PH.

Ultrasound-based liver elastography: current results and future perspectives

Chronic liver disease affects 185 million population worldwide. It encompasses a heterogenous disease spectrum, but all can lead to the development of liver fibrosis. The degree of liver fibrosis is not only a prognosticator, but has also been used to guide the treatment strategy and to evaluate treatment response. Traditionally, staging of liver fibrosis is determined on histological analysis using samples obtained from an invasive liver biopsy. Ultrasound-based liver elastography is a non-invasive method of assessing diffuse liver disease in patients with known chronic liver disease. The use of liver elastography has led to a significant reduction in the number of liver biopsies performed to assess the severity of liver fibrosis and a liver biopsy is now reserved for only select sub-groups of patients. The aim of this review article is to discuss the key findings and current evidence for ultrasound-based elastography in diffuse liver disease as well as the technical challenges and to evaluate the potential research direction.

Multicenter prospective study to validate a new transient elastography device for staging liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

OBJECTIVES

To validate the operational and diagnostic performances of a new device for transient elastography (TE), FibroTouch, for liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

METHODS

In this prospective multicenter study, adult patients with CHB and valid liver pathological results were recruited to validate the operational and diagnostic performance of a TE device by FibroTouch for staging liver fibrosis.

RESULTS

In total, 517 patients with histologically proven CHB were enrolled. All had achieved at least 10 successful liver stiffness measurements (LSM), resulting in a success rate of 99.1% and reliable evaluations of 95.2%. Altogether 412 patients were included to analyze the diagnostic performance of FibroTouch. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the LSM was 0.846 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.808-0.880) for fibrosis stage ≥ F1, 0.850 (95% CI 0.811-0.883) for ≥ F2, 0.908 (95% CI 0.876-0.934) for ≥ F3 and 0.874 (95% CI 0.836-0.903) for F4. The diagnostic accuracy of LSM was superior to that of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR), aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), or fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4) index in staging fibrosis F2-F4 (P = 0.007 to < 0.0001). Optimal LSM cut-off values for diagnosing fibrosis stage ≥ F1, ≥ F2, ≥ F3, and F4 were 5.5 kPa, 7.85 kPa, 10.0 kPa, and 12.7 kPa, respectively.

CONCLUSION

FibroTouch has a high success rate and good reliability in staging liver fibrosis in patients with CHB.

Extremely low risk of hepatocellular carcinoma development in patients with chronic hepatitis B in immune-tolerant phase

BACKGROUND

Anti-viral therapy is not indicated for patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the immune-tolerant phase.

AIMS

To investigate the cumulative incidence of phase change and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and independent predictors for phase change in patients with CHB in immune-tolerant phase.

METHODS

In total, 946 patients in immune-tolerant phase, defined as hepatitis B e antigen positivity, HBV-DNA >20 000 IU/mL and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤40 IU/L, between 1989 and 2017 were enrolled from eight institutes.

RESULTS

The mean age of study population (429 men and 517 women) was 36.7 years. The mean ALT and HBV-DNA levels were 24.6 IU/L and 8.50 log10 IU/mL, respectively. Of the study population, 476 (50.3%) patients remained in immune-tolerant phase throughout the study period (median: 63.6 months). The cumulative incidence rates of phase change and HCC at 10 years were 70.7% and 1.7%, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that HBV-DNA level >107  IU/mL was associated independently with a reduced risk of phase change (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.734, P = 0.008), whereas a high ALT level, above the cut-off recommended in the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver guidelines (34 IU/L for men and 30 IU/L for women), was associated independently with a greater risk of phase change (HR = 1.885, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The criterion of HBV-DNA level > 107  IU/mL may be useful to define immune-tolerant phase. In addition, an extremely low risk of HCC development was observed in patients with CHB in immune-tolerant phase.

Predicting Metabolic Syndrome With Machine Learning Models Using a Decision Tree Algorithm: Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of disorders that significantly influence the development and deterioration of numerous diseases. FibroScan is an ultrasound device that was recently shown to predict metabolic syndrome with moderate accuracy. However, previous research regarding prediction of metabolic syndrome in subjects examined with FibroScan has been mainly based on conventional statistical models. Alternatively, machine learning, whereby a computer algorithm learns from prior experience, has better predictive performance over conventional statistical modeling.

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of different decision tree machine learning algorithms to predict the state of metabolic syndrome in self-paid health examination subjects who were examined with FibroScan.

Methods

Multivariate logistic regression was conducted for every known risk factor of metabolic syndrome. Principal components analysis was used to visualize the distribution of metabolic syndrome patients. We further applied various statistical machine learning techniques to visualize and investigate the pattern and relationship between metabolic syndrome and several risk variables.

Results

Obesity, serum glutamic-oxalocetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, controlled attenuation parameter score, and glycated hemoglobin emerged as significant risk factors in multivariate logistic regression. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values for classification and regression trees and for the random forest were 0.831 and 0.904, respectively.

Conclusions

Machine learning technology facilitates the identification of metabolic syndrome in self-paid health examination subjects with high accuracy.

Fibro-indices versus liver stiffness for prediction of significant fibrosis in hepatitis B virus-infected Egyptian patients; a single-center experience

Background: Liver fibrosis assessment is a key factor for disease management in hepatitis B virus (HBV). Several serum biomarkers have been introduced for noninvasive fibrosis assessment. This study aims to evaluate the validity of simple noninvasive indices, namely Fibrosis-4 score (FIB4), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI), Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI), and fibrosis index in evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic HBV.Methods: 226 patients with chronic HBV genotype D were included. FIB4, APRI, GUCI, and fibrosis index were performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to predict ≥F2 fibrosis.Results: The mean age of patients was 39.00 years and 72.27% of patients were treatment naïve. Patients with ≥F2 hepatic fibrosis had significantly higher FIB-4 (1.58 ± 1.46 vs. 1.15 ± 1.09), APRI (0.68 ± 0.71 vs. 0.43 ± 0.37), GUCI score (0.75 ± 0.94 vs. 0.42 ± 0.29) and Fibrosis index (2.18 ± 0.84 vs. 1.84 ± 0.69). All studied indices were able to diagnose ≥F2 fibrosis. APRI had the highest area under the ROC (AUROC) of 0.67. Predictivity of all indices was higher in on-treatment vs naive patients.Conclusion: FIB4, APRI, and GUCI scores are acceptable, noninvasive, and cheap simple indices that can be helpful on treatment follow-up of fibrosis regression in the setting of low socioeconomic conditions compared to the relatively expensive fibroscan modality.

Ultrasound-based liver elastography in the assessment of fibrosis

Ultrasound-based elastography has rapidly replaced the need for liver biopsy in most patients with chronic liver disease in recent years. The technique is now widely supported by many manufacturers. This review will introduce various current ultrasound-based elastography techniques, review the physics and scanning techniques, discuss potential cofounding factors as well as summarising the evidence for its use in staging liver fibrosis using shear-wave elastography among different disease aetiologies. Future challenges and directions will be also be discussed.

Hepatitis B core antibody and liver stiffness measurements predict HBeAg seroconversion in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with minimally elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels

Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels between 1 and 2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) are common in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. There are few clinical studies focused on this group of patients because of the poorer treatment outcomes compared to those with more than 2 × ULN ALT level. However, treatments are necessary to reduce liver damage for patients with minimally elevated ALT levels. And biomarkers are needed in predicting the treatment response. In this study, a total of 106 patients with CHB were enrolled and treated with entecavir, telbivudine or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. Liver stiffness was measured by transient elastography, and quantitative levels of hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) were detected by ELISA. At week 96, 31 (29.25%) patients achieved hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion. Notably, baseline HBcAb levels and liver stiffness measurements (LSM) were higher in patients who achieved HBeAg seroconversion. The multivariate analysis showed that the baseline HBcAb levels and LSM were independent predictors for HBeAg seroconversion. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of baseline HBcAb, LSM and the combination of them for HBeAg seroconversion was 0.714, 0.720 and 0.717, respectively. In addition, we discovered that the patients with baseline HBcAb levels ≥ 4.15 log₁₀ IU/mL and LSM ≥ 9.85 kPa had higher rates of HBeAg seroconversion. Therefore, the measurement of HBcAb and liver stiffness might be good approaches for the optimization of antiviral therapy for HBeAg-positive CHB patients with minimally elevated ALT levels.

Liver fibrosis imaging: A clinical review of ultrasound and magnetic resonance elastography

Liver fibrosis is a histological hallmark of most chronic liver diseases, which can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure, and predisposes to hepatocellular carcinoma. Accurate diagnosis of liver fibrosis is necessary for prognosis, risk stratification, and treatment decision-making. Liver biopsy, the reference standard for assessing liver fibrosis, is invasive, costly, and impractical for surveillance and treatment response monitoring. Elastography offers a noninvasive, objective, and quantitative alternative to liver biopsy. This article discusses the need for noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis and reviews the comparative advantages and limitations of ultrasound and magnetic resonance elastography techniques with respect to their basic concepts, acquisition, processing, and diagnostic performance. Variations in clinical contexts of use and common pitfalls associated with each technique are considered. In addition, current challenges and future directions to improve the diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility of elastography techniques are discussed. Level of Evidence: 5 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;51:25-42.

Optimizing the Use of the Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase-to-Platelet Ratio and Transient Elastography to Identify Liver Cirrhosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Concurrent with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background and Aim

Little information is available about the assessment and optimal use of the gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR) and transient elastography (TE) in predicting liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and concurrent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study is aimed at comparing their diagnostic performances and developing an optimal approach for predicting liver cirrhosis in CHB patients with NAFLD.

Methods

Consecutive CHB patients with NAFLD were enrolled. The GPR was calculated, and TE was performed using liver biopsy as a reference standard. The accuracy of predicting liver cirrhosis using GPR and TE was assessed and compared, and an optimal approach was developed.

Results

Both TE and GPR correlated significantly with the histological fibrosis stage. TE and GPR had excellent performance in predicting liver cirrhosis, and the comparison of areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves revealed that TE was superior to GPR (0.95 vs. 0.85, P = 0.039). Moreover, the dual cutoffs established by the likelihood ratio showed that GPR had a similar misclassification but higher indeterminate rate than TE (54.5% vs. 11.7%, P < 0.001). Additionally, a 2-step approach using GPR followed by TE had comparable performance to that of both GPR and TE tests for all patients (misclassification: 8.9% vs. 8.3%, P = 0.866; indeterminate rate: 15.2% vs. 17.2%, P = 0.750) but could reduce TE scans by approximately one-third.

Conclusions

Both TE and GPR show excellent performance in predicting liver cirrhosis in CHB patients with NAFLD. The 2-step approach using GPR followed by TE may be optimal for the assessment of cirrhosis in CHB patients with NAFLD.

Noninvasive and Convenient Screening of Metabolic Syndrome Using the Controlled Attenuation Parameter Technology: An Evaluation Based on Self-Paid Health Examination Participants

Background: There is a medical need for an easy, fast, and non-invasive method for metabolic syndrome (MetS) screening. This study aimed to assess the ability of FibroScan to detect MetS, in participants who underwent a self-paid health examination. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on all adults who underwent a self-paid health examination comprising of an abdominal transient elastography inspection using FibroScan 502 Touch from March 2015 to February 2019. FibroScan can assess the level of liver fibrosis by using a liver stiffness score, and the level of liver steatosis by using the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) score. The logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic curve were applied to select significant predictors and assess their predictability. A final model that included all significant predictors that are found by univariate analysis, and a convenient model that excluded all invasive parameters were created. Results: Of 1983 participants, 13.6% had a physical status that fulfilled MetS criteria. The results showed that the CAP score solely could achieve an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.79 (0.76–0.82) in predicting MetS, and the AUC can be improved to 0.88 (0.85–0.90) in the final model. An AUC of 0.85 (0.83–0.88) in predicting MetS was obtained in the convenient model, which includes only 4 parameters (CAP score, gender, age, and BMI). A panel of predictability indices (the ranges of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio: 0.78–0.89, 0.66–0.82, 2.64–4.47, and 0.17–0.26) concerning gender- and BMI-specific CAP cut-off values (range: 191.65–564.95) were presented for practical reference. Conclusions: Two prediction systems were proposed for identifying individuals with a physical status that fulfilled the MetS criteria, and a panel of predictability indices was presented for practical reference. Both systems had moderate predictive performance. The findings suggested that FibroScan evaluation is appropriate as a first-line MetS screening; however, the variation in prediction performance of such systems among groups with varying metabolic derangements warrants further studies in the future.

Influence of Gender and Reproductive Factors on Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

INTRODUCTION

The role of reproductive factors in the development of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unknown. We assessed the potential contributions of gender, menopausal status, and menarche age to liver fibrosis in CHB.

METHODS

A cross-sectional prospective study included 716 women and 716 age-matched men with CHB who were not currently receiving antiviral therapy. Liver stiffness measurement using transient elastography was used to stage liver fibrosis as F0-F1 (<7.2 kPa), F ≥ 2 (7.2 kPa), F ≥ 3 (9.4 kPa), and F = 4 (12.2 kPa). Female patients were asked regarding their age at menarche and menopausal status using a questionnaire.

RESULTS

Of the 716 women, 121 (16.9%) were postmenopausal, and 80 (11.2%) had advanced liver fibrosis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the postmenopausal status compared with the premenopausal status (odds ratio [OR] = 3.65-8.83; P < 0.05) and age at menarche of >14 years compared with <13 years (OR = 2.85-3.95; P < 0.05) were significantly associated with advanced fibrosis. Compared with premenopausal women, age-matched men had a higher OR for advanced fibrosis (P < 0.05). Compared with postmenopausal women, age-matched men did not show a significant difference in the degree of liver fibrosis (P > 0.05). Longitudinal data analysis showed that postmenopausal women (n = 31) were significantly less likely to undergo regression of liver fibrosis after antiviral treatment vs premenopausal women (n = 19) (26.3% vs 74.2%, respectively; P < 0.001).

DISCUSSION

Menopause and late menarche aggravated liver fibrosis in untreated CHB, besides menopause delayed fibrosis regression under antiviral therapy. The protective effect of female gender against fibrosis was lost for postmenopausal women.

TRANSLATIONAL IMPACT

It is important to consider menopausal status and age at menarche in establishing surveillance strategies among CHB females. Postmenopausal estrogen therapy may be considered for the prevention or treatment of liver fibrosis.

Value of controlled attenuation parameter in fibrosis prediction in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

BACKGROUND

Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) tends to overestimate fibrosis stage in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), provided by LSM device, has been introduced for noninvasive quantification of hepatic steatosis.

AIM

To determine the role of CAP values in predicting liver fibrosis stage by LSM in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

METHODS

One hundred eighty-four patients with biopsy proven NASH had LSM and CAP evaluated at baseline. Among them, 130 patients had 1-year follow up LSM and analyzed for the changes of LSM after pioglitazone or ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment.

RESULTS

In Kleiner fibrosis stage F0-1, LSM values increased at higher CAP tertile (P = 0.001), and in F2, at middle and higher tertiles (P = 0.027). No difference across CAP tertiles was noticed in F3-4 (P = 0.752). Receiver operating characteristic curve for LSM cutoff in diagnosis of F ≥ 2 identified 8.05 kPa for lower CAP tertile, 9.35 kPa for middle, and 10.55 kPa for high tertile. When changes in proportion of significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2) were assessed among pioglitazone and UDCA treated patients considering CAP values, pioglitazone treated patients demonstrated decrease in proportion of high LSM.

CONCLUSION

In patient with NAFLD, interpretation of LSM in association with CAP scores may provide helpful information sparing unnecessary liver biopsy.

Impacts of cigarette smoking on liver fibrosis and its regression under therapy in male patients with chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND & AIMS

The role of cigarette smoking in the development of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains poorly understood. We assessed the potential contributions of cigarette smoking to liver fibrosis and its regression after starting antiviral therapy in CHB patients.

METHODS

In this cohort study, 2144 consecutive male CHB patients under no antiviral therapy were evaluated and 206 patients with significant liver fibrosis (≥F2) initiating antiviral therapy had longitudinal follow-up. Liver fibrosis was measured by liver stiffness measurement using transient elastography. To adjust for imbalances between smoking history and never smoking groups, propensity score (PS) matching model with 1:1 ratios were performed. Cigarette smoking history and intensity (pack-years) were collected and documented using a standardized questionnaire.

RESULTS

Before PS matching, 432/2144 patients had advanced fibrosis in prevalence cohort. Patients with smoking history (n = 1002) had a greater prevalence of advanced fibrosis than those without (n = 1142) (24.4% vs 16.5%, P = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that smoking contributed to advanced fibrosis (OR, 1.458; 95% CI, 1.114-1.908). In longitudinal cohort, multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated retarded fibrosis regression in patients with history of smoking ≥10 pack-years (OR, 0.288; 95% CI, 0.1-0.825). After PS matching, patients with smoking history had higher prevalence of advanced fibrosis (22.8% vs 18%, P = 0.024) than those non-smokers. In post-PS-matching logistic regression, the effect of smoking on advanced fibrosis persisted (OR, 1.415; 95% CI, 1.047-1.912; P = 0.024).

CONCLUSIONS

Cigarette smoking in male CHB patients aggravated liver fibrosis prior to and delayed fibrosis regression under antiviral therapy.

Strain elastography for noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis: A prospective study with histological comparison

The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic performance of strain elastography for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease using Ishak (0-6) histology stage as a reference standard. Ninety-eight consecutive patients with suspected chronic liver disease scheduled for liver biopsy (n = 78) or histologically confirmed cirrhosis (n = 20) were enrolled. Liver fibrosis Index (LF Index) calculated by strain elastography, liver stiffness by transient elastography and serum fibrosis markers (aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index and King's Score) were measured. Spearman's correlation coefficient between the LF Index, liver stiffness, serum fibrosis markers and fibrosis stage were calculated and compared using areas under the receiver-operating characteristics (AUROCs) curves. Among 73 patients who underwent strain elastography, there was weak correlation between fibrosis stage and the LF Index (Spearman's: ρ = 0.385 for Ishak score; P = 0.001). Among 52 patients who underwent strain elastography and transient elastography, the AUROC values using LF Index, transient elastography, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index and King's Score for diagnosing significant fibrosis (Ishak score ≥ 3) were 0.79, 0.87, 0.86 and 0.85, respectively (P < 0.0001) and for diagnosing severe fibrosis/cirrhosis (Ishak score ≥ 5) were 0.83, 0.94, 0.92 and 0.92, respectively (P < 0.0001). When comparing the diagnostic performance using LF Index, transient elastography, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index and King's Score, transient elastography shows a significantly higher AUROC value than LF Index in detecting severe fibrosis (P = 0.0149). The diagnostic performance of LF Index calculated by strain elastography was not statistically significantly different to the other noninvasive tests for the assessment of significant liver fibrosis but inferior to transient elastography for the assessment of severe fibrosis/cirrhosis.

Evaluation and comparison of the diagnostic performance of routine blood tests in predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B infection

Background & aims: Biopsy is the gold standard for staging liver fibrosis, but it may be accompanied by complications. As an alternative, non-invasive markers such as transient elastography (for liver fibrosis) and certain combinations of routine blood markers (liver function tests, full blood count) have been developed although their clinical significance remains controversial. Here, we compare the diagnostic values of non-invasive markers for liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. Methods: Transient elastography and routine laboratory tests were performed in 196 patients. Diagnostic performances were compared and were assessed based on the area under the curve (AUC) of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: Elevated GGT to platelet ratio (GPR), the fibrosis index FIB-4 [based on age, AST, platelets and ALT], platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and total bilirubin were independent predictors of liver stiffness defined by transient elastography (all P < 0.001). The AUCs of GPR in predicting both advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis were significantly larger than that of FIB-4 (P = 0.037 and P = 0.008, respectively) and AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) (P = 0.008 and P = 0.005). FIB-4, APRI and red cell volume distribution width-to-platelet ratio (RPR) had similar diagnostic values in discriminating different levels of liver fibrosis. Conclusions: GPR showed the best diagnostic value and RPR and PLR are easily available and inexpensive markers in evaluating fibrosis and cirrhosis. The diagnostic values of these laboratory markers are useful in diagnosing advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, and in confirming the different levels of liver fibrosis.

Diagnostic value of two dimensional shear wave elastography combined with texture analysis in early liver fibrosis

BACKGROUND

Staging diagnosis of liver fibrosis is a prerequisite for timely diagnosis and therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B. In recent years, ultrasound elastography has become an important method for clinical noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis stage, but its diagnostic value for early liver fibrosis still needs to be further improved. In this study, the texture analysis was carried out on the basis of two dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE), and the feasibility of 2D-SWE plus texture analysis in the diagnosis of early liver fibrosis was discussed.

AIM

To assess the diagnostic value of 2D-SWE combined with textural analysis in liver fibrosis staging.

METHODS

This study recruited 46 patients with chronic hepatitis B. Patients underwent 2D-SWE and texture analysis; Young's modulus values and textural patterns were obtained, respectively. Textural pattern was analyzed with regard to contrast, correlation, angular second moment (ASM), and homogeneity. Pathological results of biopsy specimens were the gold standard; comparison and assessment of the diagnosis efficiency were conducted for 2D-SWE, texture analysis and their combination.

RESULTS

2D-SWE displayed diagnosis efficiency in early fibrosis, significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis, and early cirrhosis (AUC > 0.7, P < 0.05) with respective AUC values of 0.823 (0.678-0.921), 0.808 (0.662-0.911), 0.920 (0.798-0.980), and 0.855 (0.716-0.943). Contrast and homogeneity displayed independent diagnosis efficiency in liver fibrosis stage (AUC > 0.7, P < 0.05), whereas correlation and ASM showed limited values. AUC of contrast and homogeneity were respectively 0.906 (0.779-0.973), 0.835 (0.693-0.930), 0.807 (0.660-0.910) and 0.925 (0.805-0.983), 0.789 (0.639-0.897), 0.736 (0.582-0.858), 0.705 (0.549-0.883) and 0.798 (0.650-0.904) in four liver fibrosis stages, which exhibited equivalence to 2D-SWE in diagnostic efficiency (P > 0.05). Combined diagnosis (PRE) displayed diagnostic efficiency (AUC > 0.7, P < 0.01) for all fibrosis stages with respective AUC of 0.952 (0.841-0.994), 0.896 (0.766-0.967), 0.978 (0.881-0.999), 0.947 (0.835-0.992). The combined diagnosis showed higher diagnosis efficiency over 2D-SWE in early liver fibrosis (P < 0.05), whereas no significant differences were observed in other comparisons (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Texture analysis was capable of diagnosing liver fibrosis stage, combined diagnosis had obvious advantages in early liver fibrosis, liver fibrosis stage might be related to the hepatic tissue hardness distribution.

Diagnostic accuracy of red blood cell distribution width to platelet ratio for predicting staging liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Red cell volume distribution width to platelet ratio (RPR), as a novel noninvasive assessment, is frequently investigated. However, the utility of RPR to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of liver fibrosis remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to determine the diagnostic performance of RPR for detecting staging liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched. Summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROC), diagnostic odds ratios (DOR), pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios were used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of RPR. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were also performed to identify factors that contributed to heterogeneity. The Quality Assessment for Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool was applied to assess the quality.

RESULTS

Fifteen studies with a total of 3346 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The area under the curve for SROC to summarize diagnostic accuracy of RPR for prediction of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis was 0.73 (standard error [SE] = 0.02), 0.83 (SE = 0.03), and 0.85 (SE = 0.04), respectively. Pooled DOR with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) was 4.93 (95% CI: 3.78-6.43), 10.27 (95% CI: 6.26-16.84), and 12.16 (95% CI: 5.85-25.28), respectively, using a random effects model. Meta-regression showed that length of liver biopsy specimen potentially contributed to heterogeneity. There was no significant publication bias observed across the eligible studies.

CONCLUSIONS

In chronic liver disease patients, RPR presented a good performance for prediction of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis. More future trials are required for prospective validation.

Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis and prognosis: an update on serum and elastography markers

Non-invasive assessment of fibrosis is increasingly utilized in clinical practice to diagnose hepatic fibrosis. Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis relies on biologic and/or physical properties to assess tissue fibrosis. Serum markers estimate fibrosis by incorporating markers reflecting hepatic function (indirect markers) and/or markers measuring extracellular matrix degradation/fibrogenesis (direct markers). Radiology based techniques relay the mechanical properties and stiffness of a tissue, with increased stiffness associated with more advanced fibrosis. Areas covered: In this comprehensive review, the recent literature discussing serum markers and elastography-based techniques will be covered. These modalities are also explored in the setting of various liver diseases. Expert opinion: The etiology of liver disease and clinical context should be taken into consideration when non-invasive markers are incorporated in clinical practice. Non-invasive assessment of fibrosis has been most extensively utilized in hepatitis C, followed by hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, but its role remains less developed in other etiologies of liver disease such as alcohol-associated liver disease and autoimmune liver disease. The role of non-invasive markers in predicting progression or regression of fibrosis, development of liver-related events and survival needs to be further explored.

Follow-Up Liver Stiffness Measurements after Liver Resection Influence Oncologic Outcomes of Hepatitis-B-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Liver Cirrhosis

The severity of liver fibrosis can be noninvasively evaluated by measuring liver stiffness (LS) using transient elastography. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of achieving low liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in patients with cirrhosis confirmed from the resected liver due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 184 patients that received curative surgery for HCC related to the hepatitis B virus at Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage 0⁻A, and had a METAVIR fibrosis score of 4 were investigated. LSM significantly decreased after antiviral therapy during follow-up (p = 0.001), and achieving LSM ≤8 kilopascal (kPa) suggested a reduced risk of late recurrence (>12 months) (hazard ratio (HR), 0.519; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.307⁻0.877; p = 0.014). Older age at surgery (≥45 years) and multiple HCC nodules predicted an increased risk of late recurrence (HR, 3.270; 95% CI, 1.296⁻8.251; p = 0.012; and HR, 3.146; 95% CI, 1.396⁻7.089; p = 0.006). Decreased LSM also suggested decreased mortality (HR, 0.251; 95% CI, 0.086⁻0.756; p = 0.045) along with baseline low aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) score (<1.5) (HR, 0.251; 95% CI, 0.086⁻0.759; p = 0.041). Having early HCC recurrence (HR, 9.416; 95% CI, 3.566⁻24.861; p < 0.001) and microvascular tumor invasion (HR, 3.191; 95% CI, 1.188⁻8.568; p = 0.021) predicted increased mortality. Among HCC patients with liver cirrhosis under antiviral therapy, achieving low LSM (≤8 kPa) predicted reduced late HCC recurrence.

Recent advances in assessment and treatment of chronic hepatitis B

This paper reviews the recent advances in the assessment and treatment of chronic hepatitis B with regard to predicting inflammation and fibrosis with non-invasive biomarkers and transient elastography, clinical benefits of long-term nucleos(t)ide analog (NA) antiviral therapy, serological benefits (HBeAg and HBsAg loss) of concurrent or sequential NAs and pegylated interferon, as well as risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Evaluation and comparison of thirty noninvasive models for diagnosing liver fibrosis in chinese hepatitis B patients

The limitations of liver biopsy have led to the development of indirect noninvasive models for liver fibrosis assessment. We aimed to evaluate and compare the performance of 30 noninvasive models to predict fibrosis stage in treatment-naïve and treated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. A total of 576 Chinese treatment-naïve CHB patients and 236 treated CHB patients who had undergone percutaneous liver biopsy were included in the analysis. Histological grading and staging was assessed by the Ishak scoring system. The diagnostic accuracies of 30 noninvasive models were assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs). In treatment-naïve CHB patients, the AUROCs of the 30 noninvasive models for discriminating significant fibrosis (SF) were less than 0.800, and only the AUROC of the PP score for diagnosing advanced fibrosis (AF) was more than 0.800, while the AUROCs of FIB-4, FibroQ, HB-F, Lok index, PHP score and PP score for predicting cirrhosis were greater than 0.800. In treated CHB patients, only the AUROCs of APRI, GUCI, King's score and Wang I for identifying cirrhosis were more than 0.800. The Spearman correlation analysis identified that only the changes in FCI and Virahep-C model values were weakly correlated with changes in Ishak fibrosis scores before and after treatment (r = 0.206, p = 0.008; r = 0.187, p = 0.016, respectively). In conclusion, in Chinese CHB patients, the 30 existing noninvasive models were not suitable for assessing each stage of fibrosis except cirrhosis before and after antiviral therapy, especially in gauging progression and regression of liver fibrosis following therapy.

Assessment of Liver Fibrosis With Elastography Point Quantification vs Other Noninvasive Methods

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Elastography point quantification (ElastPQ) is a non-invasive method for assessing liver fibrosis based on liver stiffness. We evaluated the accuracy of ElastPQ for the staging of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) compared with aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index, fibrosis-4 index, and transient elastography (TE), using liver biopsy as reference standard.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study of 406 patients with CLD of any etiology who underwent liver biopsy analysis from September 2012 through June 2017 at a clinic in Bologna, Italy. We obtained liver stiffness measurements, made by ElastPQ and TE, for 361 patients. Liver fibrosis stage was assessed by the METAVIR scoring system. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) were used to assess the diagnostic performance of ElastPQ.

RESULTS

ElastPQ values correlated with histologic detection of fibrosis (r = 0.718; P < .001). The AUROC values were 0.856 for detection of significant fibrosis (F≥2), 0.951 for advanced fibrosis (F≥3), and 0.965 for cirrhosis. The best cut-off values identified for classifying patients with F≥2, F≥3, or cirrhosis were 6.0 kPa, 6.2 kPa, and 9.5 kPa, respectively: these were lower than those for TE. Comparison of ElastPQ with TE data resulted in superimposable diagnostic accuracy of both methods for each stage of liver fibrosis. Both elastography techniques performed better than aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index or fibrosis-4 index scores (P < .05 for all AUROC comparisons).

CONCLUSIONS

ElastPQ has good to excellent performance for the non-invasive staging of liver fibrosis in patients with CLD. ElastPQ identified patients with fibrosis or cirrhosis with levels of accuracy that were not inferior to those of TE, and outperformed serum fibrosis indexes in identifying each stage of liver fibrosis.

Transient Elastography and Ultrasonography: Optimal Evaluation of Liver Fibrosis and Cirrhosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Concurrent with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background and Aims

Concordance between transient elastography (TE) and ultrasonography (US) in assessing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and concurrent nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been rarely studied. This study aimed to evaluate the individual and combined performances of TE and US in assessing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Patients and Methods

Consecutive CHB patients with NAFLD were prospectively enrolled. TE and US examinations were performed, with liver biopsy as a reference standard. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were obtained to evaluate the diagnostic performance. Differences between the areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) were compared using DeLong's test.

Results

TE and US scores correlated significantly with the histological fibrosis staging scores. TE was significantly superior to US in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis (AUC, 0.84 vs 0.73; P=0.02), advanced fibrosis (AUC, 0.95 vs 0.76; P<0.001), and cirrhosis (AUC, 0.96 vs 0.71; P<0.001). Combining TE with US did not increase the accuracy of detecting significant fibrosis, advanced cirrhosis, or cirrhosis (P=0.62, P=0.69, and P=0.38, respectively) compared to TE alone. However, TE combined with US significantly increased the positive predictive value for significant fibrosis when compared to TE alone. The optimal cut-off values of TE for predicting advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis were 8.7 kPa and 10.9 kPa, with negative predictive values of 92.4% and 98.7%, respectively.

Conclusions

TE is useful for predicting hepatic fibrosis and excluding cirrhosis in CHB patients with NAFLD. A combination of TE and US does not improve the accuracy in assessing liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.

Taiwan consensus statement on the management of chronic hepatitis B

The experts of Taiwan Association for the Study of Liver (TASL) have actively participated and led the guidelines on hepatitis B virus (HBV) management by Asian Pacific Association for the Study of Liver (APASL) which is the first international association for the study of liver to publish the statement on HBV management before. However, there are more and more new data on the natural history and treatment of HBV infection in the past decade. These include new application of an old biomarker (quantitative HBsAg), clinical significance of HBV genotype and naturally occurring mutations, the role of non-invasive examination in evaluating severity of hepatic fibrosis, clinical significance of outcome calculators, new drug or new combination strategies towards more effective therapy and organ transplantation including liver and non-liver transplantation. It is time to publish the guidelines on HBV management of Taiwan. Hence, TASL have conducted an expert meeting to review, to discuss and to debate the relevant literatures, followed by draft the manuscript of HBV management guidelines and recommendations. The guidelines include general management, indications for fibrosis assessment, time to start or stop drug therapy, choice of drug to initiate therapy, when and how to monitor the patients during and after stopping drug therapy. Recommendations on the therapy of patients in special circumstances, including women in childbearing age, patients with antiviral drug resistance, concurrent viral infection, hepatic decompensation, patient receiving immune suppression or chemotherapy and patients in the setting of liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma, are also included.

Comparison of three cut-offs to diagnose clinically significant portal hypertension by liver stiffness in chronic viral liver diseases: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Transient elastography-based liver stiffness value (TE-LSV) has been investigated for assessing clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH). The aetiology of CSPH is an important factor determining TE-LSV. There is insufficient evidence for selecting cut-off values.

AIMS

This study performed a meta-analysis to compare the three most widely used cut-off values (around 13.6 kPa, 18 kPa and 22kPa) of TE-LSV for the diagnosis of CSPH in patients with chronic viral liver disease.

METHODS

The PubMed, Ovid, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Diagnostic data for cut-off values around 13.6 kPa, 18 kPa and 22 kPa in each included study were extracted. The bivariate model was performed to estimate pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (LR+) and negative likelihood ratio (LR-).

RESULTS

Eleven studies assessing 910 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Pooled sensitivities of cut-off values around 13.6 kPa, 18 kPa and 22 kPa were 0.96 (95% CI 0.93-0.97), 0.85 (0.81-0.89) and 0.74 (0.66-0.80), respectively; pooled specificities were 0.60 (0.47-0.75), 0.80 (0.71-0.87) and 0.94 (0.86-0.97), respectively. Pooled LR+ values were 2.4 (1.6-3.7), 4.4 (2.9-6.8) and 11.5 (5.5-23.5) for cut-off values around 13.6 kPa, 18 kPa and 22 kPa, respectively, for pooled LR- values of 0.07 (0.04-0.13), 0.17 (0.12-0.25) and 0.28 (0.22-0.36), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Cut-off values around 13.6 kPa (high sensitivity) and 22 kPa (high specificity) could be used as screening and confirmation tools, respectively, in the diagnosis of CSPH. Overall, the cut-off value around 22 kPa showed the best performance.

KEY POINTS

Transient elastography-based liver stiffness could be used to diagnose portal hypertension. Comparison of certain cut-off values would provide more information for clinical decision-making. Cut-off around 13.6 kPa was able to exclude clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) effectively. Cut-off around 22 kPa was able to confirm CSPH effectively.

Prevalence and Determinants of Significant Liver Fibrosis by Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography in Thai Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

AIMS

To describe the prevalence of significant liver fibrosis by ultrasound-based vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE; FibroScan®) and to identify the determinants of significant liver fibrosis in Thai chronic hepatitis B patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study of consecutive chronic hepatitis B patients performed VCTE and followed up at Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, was conducted between 1 January, 2013, and 31 December, 2016. Liver fibrosis was defined as minimal (METAVIR F0-1) by VCTE < 7.2 kPa and significant (METAVIR F2-4) by VCTE ≥ 7.2 kPa. VCTE assessments and medical records were retrospectively reviewed. The prevalence and determinants of significant liver fibrosis were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 206 eligible patients were included; 120 patients (58.3%) were female. The mean age was 50 years (SD 12.4 years), and 32.5% had a body mass index ≥ 25. The prevalences of minimal (F 0-1) and significant fibrosis (F2-4) were 74.3% and 25.7%, respectively. The prevalence of hepatitis B e antigen negative (HBeAg -ve) was 83%. The median serum hepatitis B virus viral load was 4,340 IU/mL (range 20-271,883,036). Significant determinants of significant fibrosis (F2-4) were male gender (aOR 3.24 [95%CI: 1.36-7.72]) and high aspartate transaminase (AST) level (aOR 5.71 [95%CI: 2.03-16.04]).

CONCLUSION

Around one-quarter of the Thai patients with chronic viral hepatitis B had significant liver disease defined by VCTE, requiring further evaluation for specific treatment for hepatitis B virus. Determinants of significant liver fibrosis were male gender and high AST level.

Serum Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein level as a diagnostic marker of hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

AIM

Serum glycosylated Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA+ -M2BP) is a novel marker for staging liver fibrosis and predicting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence. This study aimed at evaluating the performance of WFA+ -M2BP in the diagnosis of HCC in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

METHODS

The WFA+ -M2BP levels were measured in stored samples collected at initial diagnosis of 150 patients with HBV-related HCC and 150 age- and gender-matched patients with non-malignant chronic HBV infection.

RESULTS

Patients with HCC had higher levels of WFA+ -M2BP than those without HCC (3.9 [1.5-20.6] vs. 1.6 [0.4-9.3] cut-off index [COI], P < 0.001). In the HCC group, WFA+ -M2BP levels correlated with Child-Pugh classification but did not correlate with HBV markers, α-fetoprotein (AFP), or Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage. The areas under the curve (AUROC) for differentiating HCC from non-HCC were 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89-0.95; P < 0.001) for WFA+ -M2BP, 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87-0.94; P < 0.001) for AFP, and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.95-0.98; P < 0.001) for the combination of both markers. At the optimal cut-off (2.4 COI), WFA+ -M2BP had sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 79.3%, 91.3%, and 85.3%, respectively. The WFA+ -M2BP marker was superior to AFP in differentiating early-stage HCC (BCLC stages 0 and A) from cirrhosis with AUROC of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.68-0.91; P < 0.001) and 0.73 (95% CI, 0.60-0.86; P = 0.002), respectively. By univariate analysis, elevated WFA+ -M2BP (≥4.0 COI) was correlated with poor overall survival in patients with HCC.

CONCLUSIONS

Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive M2BP showed a better diagnostic performance than AFP in detecting early-stage HCC. Thus, WFA+ -M2BP level could represent a promising marker for early diagnosis of HCC in patients with chronic HBV infection.

Validation and comparison of seventeen noninvasive models for evaluating liver fibrosis in Chinese hepatitis B patients

BACKGROUND & AIMS

To avoid liver biopsy, many noninvasive models comprised of serum markers for liver fibrosis assessment have been developed. Given that most of them were developed in hepatitis C cohorts and few of them have been validated in Chinese hepatitis B patients, we aim to conduct this validation and compare their diagnostic accuracies in such a population.

METHODS

A total of 937 HBV-infected patients who underwent liver biopsy were included in this single-centre retrospective study. The diagnostic accuracies of the 17 noninvasive models were assessed by areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUROCs), using histologically evaluated fibrotic stages of the biopsy specimens as standards. To compare efficiencies of the models, a grading system based on AUROC levels was developed.

RESULTS

For discriminating significant fibrosis in all patients, the best three noninvasive models were King's score (AUROC = 0.756), Virahep-C model (AUROC = 0.756) and GPR (AUROC = 0.744); and for diagnosing cirrhosis, Lok index (AUROC = 0.832), FI (AUROC = 0.820) and FIB-4 (AUROC = 0.818) got the first three places. AUROCs in HBeAg-positive group were generally higher than those in HBeAg-negative group. In addition, based on the grading system, Virahep-C and GPR outstood others in evaluating liver fibrosis in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese HBV-infected patients, Virahep-C models and GPR had high accuracies in diagnosing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, while the most discussed models like APRI and FIB-4 did not outstand. Assessment should take into account the HBeAg sero-status, since these noninvasive models were more appropriate for HBeAg-positive patients than HBeAg-negative ones.

Diagnostic accuracy of point shear wave elastography and transient elastography for staging hepatic fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the accuracy of staging liver fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) usingpoint shear wave elastography (pSWE) and transient elastography (TE).

SETTING

Relevant records on NAFLD were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases up to 20 December 2017. A bivariate mixed-effects model was conducted to combine sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) between pSWE and TE. A sensitivity analysis was implemented to explore the source of heterogeneity.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients with NAFLD who had a liver stiffness measurement using pSWE and TE before liver biopsy were enrolled according to the following criteria: 2×2 contingency tables can be calculated via the reported number of cases; sensitivity and specificity were excluded according to the following criteria: history of other hepatic damage, such as chronic hepatitis C, concurrent active hepatitis B infection, autoimmune hepatitis, suspicious drug usage and alcohol abuse.

RESULTS

Nine pSWE studies comprising a total of 982 patients and 11 TE studies comprising a total of 1753 patients were included. For detection of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, the summary AUC was 0.86 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.89), 0.94 (95% CI 0.91 to 0.95) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.97) for pSWE, and the summary AUC was 0.85 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.88), 0.92 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.94) and 0.94 (95% CI 0.93 to 0.97) for TE, respectively. The proportion of failure measurement was over tenfold as common with TE using an M probe compared with pSWE.

CONCLUSION

pSWE and TE, providing precise non-invasive staging of liver fibrosis in NAFLD, are promising techniques, particularly for advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Longitudinal monitoring of liver fibrosis status by transient elastography in chronic hepatitis B patients during long-term entecavir treatment

The correlation between improvement in longitudinal liver stiffness and fibrosis regression has not been properly evaluated during long-term antiviral therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. In this study, liver stiffness was serially performed by FibroScan® every 26 weeks in a prospective cohort of CHB patients receiving entecavir. Results were compared with liver biopsies at baseline and week 78. A total of 120 treatment-naïve CHB patients were analyzed, in which 54 (45%) patients had fibrosis regression at 78 weeks of antiviral therapy. Liver stiffness measurement presented as a rapid-to-slow decline pattern and decreased more significantly in patients with fibrosis regression than those without improvement in fibrosis at week 78 (- 46.4 vs. - 28.6%, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that percentage decline of 52-week and 78-week liver stiffness from baseline was independent predictive factors for fibrosis regression (OR = 46.6, P < 0.001; OR = 17.8, P = 0.002, respectively). Moreover, percentage decline of 78-week liver stiffness was moderately predictive of fibrosis regression (AUROC = 0.694, P < 0.001), while the optimal cutoff values were different between non-cirrhosis and cirrhosis patients (38 vs. 45%). Fibrosis regression could be predicted with a high positive predictive value (96%) in non-cirrhosis patients and could be excluded with a high negative predictive value (94%) in cirrhosis patients. In conclusion, serial liver stiffness measurement could be applied for longitudinal monitoring of fibrosis status in CHB patients. Continuous decline of liver stiffness after effective antiviral treatment could partially reflect fibrosis regression at an optimal cutoff value.

On-treatment changes of liver stiffness at week 26 could predict 2-year clinical outcomes in HBV-related compensated cirrhosis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

It is unclear whether liver stiffness measurement (LSM) dynamic changes after anti-HBV treatment could predict the risk of liver-related events (LREs), particularly in patients with HBV-related compensated cirrhosis.

METHODS

Treatment-naïve patients with HBV-related compensated cirrhosis were enrolled. All patients were under entecavir-based antiviral therapy, and followed up every 26 weeks for 2 years. The association between LSM and LREs was analysed by Cox proportional hazard model and Harrell C-index analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 438 patients were included in the study. At the follow-up of 104 weeks, LREs developed in 33/438 (7.8%) patients, including 16 episodes of decompensation, 18 HCC and 3 deaths. The median LSM remained high from 20.9, 18.6, 20.4 to 20.3 Kpa at week 0, 26, 52 and 78 among patients with LREs, whereas the LSM decreased from 17.8, 12.3, 10.6 to 10.2 Kpa in patients without LREs respectively. Percentage changes of LSM at 26 weeks from baseline were significantly associated with LREs (excluding 11 cases occurred within the first 26 weeks), with a crude hazard ratio of 2.94 (95% CI: 1.73-5.00) and an albumin-adjusted hazard ratio of 2.47 (95% CI: 1.49-4.11). The Harrell C-index of these 2 models for predicting 2-year LREs were 0.68 (95% CI: 0.56-0.80) and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.65-0.85) respectively. Nomograms were developed to identify individuals at high risk for point-of-care application.

CONCLUSIONS

Dynamic changes of LSM alone, or combined with baseline albumin, could predict LREs in patients with HBV-related compensated cirrhosis during antiviral therapy.