Steatotic liver disease: non-invasive assessment and biomarkers across metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease with moderate alcohol consumption and alcohol-associated liver disease.

Abstract

Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide impacting more than 30% of the adult population. With the rise of obesity, metabolic syndrome and alcohol use disorder, the prevalence of the two main subtypes of SLD - metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) - continues to increase. There has concurrently been an acknowledgement of a third subtype of SLD-metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease with moderate alcohol consumption (MetALD)- wherein an individual has both components of metabolic dysfunction and regular alcohol intake. The public health significance of the SLD epidemic is substantial given risk for progression to cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Individuals with stage two fibrosis or above and those with active inflammation with hepatocyte injury are at highest risk for adverse liver-related outcomes and overall mortality. Current screening and risk stratification recommendations highlight the importance of identifying individuals at highest risk of clinical outcomes using non-invasive testing (NIT) as these individuals would benefit from liver-directed pharmacotherapy. Importantly, the performance of NITs can vary substantially based on NIT selected, cut points applied and patient population evaluated. The evidence base for NIT performance is strongest in MASLD with comparatively limited data in ALD and emerging data in MetALD. This review discusses NIT diagnostic performance in SLD and their role in chronic disease management.