Evaluation of liver transplant candidates with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Guideline-based management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in the primary care setting

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is increasing worldwide. Primary care providers play a critical role in the screening, diagnosis, and management of MASLD and/or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), though they can face challenges in this setting, particularly where healthcare resources are limited and barriers to care exist. To address these challenges, several guidelines have been developed to provide evidence-based recommendations for the clinical assessment and management of patients with MASLD/MASH.

AIMS

To provide a unified, simple-to-understand, practical guide for MASLD screening, diagnosis, and management based on current guideline recommendations, for use by primary care providers in daily practice.

METHODS

Evidence-based recommendations from several international guidelines were summarized, focusing on the similarities and differences between them.

RESULTS

Recommendations are broadly aligned across the guidelines, but several key differences are evident. Practical guidance is provided on screening, identifying target populations for risk stratification, initial evaluation of individuals with suspected MASLD, surveillance, risk stratification and referral, as well as approaches to the management of MASLD and associated comorbidities, with specific considerations for the primary care setting.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary care providers are ideally placed to identify at-risk individuals, implement evidence-based interventions to prevent the development of fibrosis and cirrhosis, and effectively manage comorbidities. Equipping primary care providers with the necessary knowledge and tools to effectively manage MASLD/MASH may help to improve patient outcomes and reduce the burden of liver disease.

The Impact and Burden of Dietary Sugars on the Liver

NAFLD, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, has increased in prevalence hand in hand with the rise in obesity and increased free sugars in the food supply. The causes of NAFLD are genetic in origin combined with environmental drivers of the disease phenotype. Dietary intake of added sugars has been shown to have a major role in the phenotypic onset and progression of the disease. Simple sugars are key drivers of steatosis, likely through fueling de novo lipogenesis, the conversion of excess carbohydrates into fatty acids, but also appear to upregulate lipogenic metabolism and trigger hyperinsulinemia, another driver. NAFLD carries a clinical burden as it is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. Patient quality of life is also impacted, and there is an enormous economic burden due to healthcare use, which is likely to increase in the coming years. This review aims to discuss the role of dietary sugar in NAFLD pathogenesis, the health and economic burden, and the promising potential of sugar reduction to improve health outcomes for patients with this chronic liver disease.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), one of the most common causes of liver disease, is an increasingly common cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Several demographic, clinical, and genetic factors contribute to HCC risk in NAFLD patients, which may inform risk stratification scores. Proven efficacious approaches to primary prevention approach in patients with non-viral liver disease remain an area of need. Semi-annual surveillance is associated with improved early tumor detection and reduced HCC-related mortality; however, patients with NAFLD have several challenges to effective surveillance, including under-recognition of at-risk patients, low surveillance utilization in clinical practice, and lower sensitivity of current tools for early-stage HCC detection. Treatment decisions are best made in a multidisciplinary fashion and are informed by several factors including tumor burden, liver dysfunction, performance status, and patient preferences. Although patients with NAFLD often have larger tumor burden and increased comorbidities compared to counterparts, they can achieve similar post-treatment survival with careful patient selection. Therefore, surgical therapies continue to provide a curative treatment option for patients diagnosed at an early stage. Although there has been debate about the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with NAFLD, current data are insufficient to change treatment selection based on liver disease etiology.

Effect of Autotransfusion in HCC Surgery on Survival and Recurrence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Simple Summary

Administering patients their own blood during liver surgery would reduce the burden on blood banks and immunologic reactions to foreign blood products. Two methods of autotransfusion are available: scheduled donation before surgery and salvage during surgery (intraoperative blood salvage, IBS). However, concerns over circulating tumor cells dissuade against autotransfusion in patients undergoing liver surgery for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This meta-analysis evaluated available reports on autotransfusion, including the reintroduction of blood collected from the surgical area during a tumor operation. Patients who received blood collected from the surgical site during liver transplantation did not develop more recurrences of HCC and their overall survival was similar to patients who received donor blood products. Patients undergoing liver resection mostly received blood they donated prior to surgery. They showed a better overall survival as well as cancer-free survival after surgery. Randomized controlled trials are needed to better estimate the effects of autotransfusion on patients and studies incorporating autotransfusion of blood collected during liver resection are needed.

Abstract

Background: The chronic blood shortage has forced clinicians to seek alternatives to allogeneic blood transfusions during surgery. Due to anatomic uniqueness resulting in a vast vasculature, liver surgery can lead to significant blood loss, and an estimated 30% of patients require blood transfusions in major hepatectomy. Allogeneic transfusion harbors the risk of an immunologic reaction. However, the hesitation to reinfuse a patient’s own blood during cancer surgery is reinforced by the potentiality of reintroducing and disseminating tumor cells into an individual undergoing curative treatment. Two methods of autotransfusions are common: autotransfusion after preoperative blood donation and intraoperative blood salvage (IBS). We aim to investigate the effect of autotransfusion on recurrence and survival rates of patients undergoing surgery for HCC. Methods: The protocol for this meta-analysis was registered at PROSPERO prior to data extraction. MEDLINE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library were searched for publications on liver surgery and blood salvage (autologous transfusion or intraoperative blood salvage). Comparative studies were included. Outcomes focused on long-term oncologic status and mortality. Hazard ratios (HR) estimated outcomes with a fixed-effects model. Risk of bias was assessed using ROBINS-I, and certainty of evidence was evaluated with GRADE. Separate analyses were performed for liver transplantation and hepatectomies. Results: Fifteen studies were included in the analysis (nine on transplantation and six on hepatectomies), and they comprised 2052 patients. Overall survival was comparable between patients who received intraoperative blood salvage (IBS) or not for liver transplantation (HR 1.13, 95% CI [0.89, 1.42] p = 0.31). Disease-free survival also was comparable (HR 0.97, 95% CI [0.76, 1.24], p = 0.83). Autotransfusion after prior donation was predominantly used in hepatectomy. Patients who received autotransfusion had a significantly better overall survival than the control (HR 0.71, 95% CI [0.58, 0.88], p = 0.002). Disease-free survival was also significantly higher in patients with autotransfusion (HR 0.88, 95% CI [0.80, 0.96], p = 0.005). Although overall, the certainty of evidence is low and included studies exhibited methodological heterogeneity, the heterogeneity of outcomes was low to moderate. Conclusion: Autotransfusion, including intraoperative blood salvage, does not adversely affect the overall or disease-free survival of patients with HCC undergoing resection or transplantation. The results of this meta-analysis justify a randomized-controlled trial regarding the feasibility and potential benefits of autotransfusion in HCC surgery.