Diagnostics and omics technologies for the detection and prediction of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease-related malignancies

Tian Lan, Frank Tacke

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) continues to rise, making it the leading etiology of chronic liver diseases and a prime cause of liver-related mortality. MASLD can progress into steatohepatitis (termed MASH), fibrosis, cirrhosis, and ultimately cancer. MASLD is associated with increased risks of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and also extrahepatic malignancies, which can develop in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients, emphasizing the importance of identifying patients with MASLD at risk of developing MASLD-associated malignancies. However, the optimal screening, diagnostic, and risk stratification strategies for patients with MASLD at risk of cancer are still under debate. Individuals with MASH-associated cirrhosis are recommended to undergo surveillance for HCC (e.g. by ultrasound and biomarkers) every six months. No specific screening approaches for MASLD-related malignancies in non-cirrhotic cases are established to date. The rapidly developing omics technologies, including genetics, metabolomics, and proteomics, show great potential for discovering non-invasive markers to fulfill this unmet need. This review provides an overview on the incidence and mortality of MASLD-associated malignancies, current strategies for HCC screening, surveillance and diagnosis in patients with MASLD, and the evolving role of omics technologies in the discovery of non-invasive markers for the prediction and risk stratification of MASLD-associated HCC.

Original languageEnglish
Article number156015
JournalMetabolism: Clinical and Experimental
Volume161
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Extrahepatic malignancies
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma
  • MASH
  • MASLD
  • NAFLD
  • NASH
  • Non-invasive biomarkers
  • Omics technologies

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