Most people never think about their liver until something goes wrong. The organ works quietly in the background, breaking down food and filtering out waste. When it starts to scar, there are rarely any clear warning signs.
Now researchers have reported that a new blood test can match the accuracy of a specialized MRI scan for staging chronic liver disease.
The findings were presented this month at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Denver.
The test, called LiquidTransformer, was developed by the diagnostics company Hepta.
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It reads patterns in cell-free DNA, tiny fragments of genetic material released into the bloodstream, to estimate how damaged the liver is.
Hepta validated the test in an independent patient cohort from Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, maker of Rezdiffra, the first drug approved for a severe form of fatty liver disease known as MASH.
Matching the imaging gold standard
Doctors currently use magnetic resonance elastography, or MRE, to measure the stiffness of liver tissue. Stiffer tissue signals more scarring, known as fibrosis.
In an evaluation reported by the clinical lab publication CLP, the blood test was studied in 229 patients who had already had a liver biopsy. It identified people sick enough to qualify for treatment about as well as the MRE scan did.
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The test also outperformed other common non-invasive tools, including FibroScan and the enhanced liver fibrosis blood test, the research team reported.
Rezdiffra is approved only for patients with moderate to advanced liver scarring. Doctors need to know how badly the liver is damaged before they can prescribe it.
Dr. Rohit Loomba of UC San Diego, who advises Hepta, said in a release quoted by CLP that the result was "a real step forward" because a blood test reaches far more patients than MRE.
The findings were presented as conference abstracts and have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Larger validation studies are still needed before the test is used in routine care.
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Why a simple blood draw would matter
MRE requires a specialized MRI machine and trained radiologists to interpret the images. That limits the scan mostly to major academic hospitals and clinical trials.
A blood sample drawn in a regular doctor's office could reach far more people, including those in rural areas and smaller clinics.
How widespread liver disease is in the US
Fatty liver disease is more common than many Americans realize. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases estimates that about 24 percent of US adults have it.
Between 1.5 and 6.5 percent have the more serious form with inflammation and scarring, the agency says.
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Many of those people have no symptoms in the early years. In more serious cases the disease can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure.
Hepta's first commercial version of the test is still in development, according to CLP.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.