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Review
. 2024 Jul 28;30(28):3447-3451.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i28.3447.

Exploring non-invasive diagnostics for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Biao Qu  1 , Zheng Li  2
Affiliations
Review

Exploring non-invasive diagnostics for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Biao Qu et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

The population with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is increasingly common worldwide. Identification of people at risk of progression to advanced stages is necessary to timely offer interventions and appropriate care. Liver biopsy is currently considered the gold standard for the diagnosis and staging of MAFLD, but it has associated risks and limitations. This has spurred the exploration of non-invasive diagnostics for MAFLD, especially for steatohepatitis and fibrosis. These non-invasive approaches mostly include biomarkers and algorithms derived from anthropometric measurements, serum tests, imaging or stool metagenome profiling. However, they still need rigorous and widespread clinical validation for the diagnostic performance.

Keywords: Circulating biomarkers; Imaging biomarkers; Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease; Non-invasive diag-nostics; Stool microbial biomarkers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

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