Trinks J, Mascardi MF, Gadano A, Marciano S. Omics-based biomarkers as useful tools in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease clinical practice: How far are we? World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(14): 1982-1989 [PMID: 38681130 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i14.1982]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Julieta Trinks, MD, PhD, Professor, Instituto de Medicina Traslacional e Ingeniería Biomédica - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano - Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Potosí 4240, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1199ACL, Argentina. julieta.trinks@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2024; 30(14): 1982-1989 Published online Apr 14, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i14.1982
Omics-based biomarkers as useful tools in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease clinical practice: How far are we?
Julieta Trinks, María F Mascardi, Adrián Gadano, Sebastián Marciano
Julieta Trinks, María F Mascardi, Sebastián Marciano, Instituto de Medicina Traslacional e Ingeniería Biomédica - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano - Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1199ACL, Argentina
Julieta Trinks, María F Mascardi, Sebastián Marciano, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1425FQB, Argentina
Adrián Gadano, Sebastián Marciano, Liver Unit, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1199DF, Argentina
Adrián Gadano, Sebastián Marciano, Department of Research, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1199DF, Argentina
Author contributions: Trinks J, Mascardi MF, and Marciano S wrote the paper; Trinks J and Mascardi MF performed the literature search and data analysis; Gadano A contributed to the review and editing of the manuscript; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Julieta Trinks, MD, PhD, Professor, Instituto de Medicina Traslacional e Ingeniería Biomédica - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Instituto Universitario del Hospital Italiano - Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Potosí 4240, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires C1199ACL, Argentina. julieta.trinks@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
Received: December 27, 2023 Peer-review started: December 27, 2023 First decision: January 27, 2024 Revised: February 19, 2024 Accepted: March 25, 2024 Article in press: March 25, 2024 Published online: April 14, 2024
Abstract
Unmet needs exist in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) risk stratification. Our ability to identify patients with MASLD with advanced fibrosis and at higher risk for adverse outcomes is still limited. Incorporating novel biomarkers could represent a meaningful improvement to current risk predictors. With this aim, omics technologies have revolutionized the process of MASLD biomarker discovery over the past decades. While the research in this field is thriving, much of the publication has been haphazard, often using single-omics data and specimen sets of convenience, with many identified candidate biomarkers but lacking clinical validation and utility. If we incorporate these biomarkers to direct patients’ management, it should be considered that the roadmap for translating a newly discovered omics-based signature to an actual, analytically valid test useful in MASLD clinical practice is rigorous and, therefore, not easily accomplished. This article presents an overview of this area’s current state, the conceivable opportunities and challenges of omics-based laboratory diagnostics, and a roadmap for improving MASLD biomarker research.
Core Tip: Identifying patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) at higher risk for adverse outcomes is still a crucial clinical challenge. Novel and non-invasive screening, monitoring, and risk stratification methods are urgently needed. With this aim, omics technologies have revolutionized the process of MASLD biomarker discovery. Although many omics-based biomarkers were identified over the past decades, their translation into clinically useful tests that can guide management decisions has proven more difficult than expected. This review presents an overview of this area’s current state, the conceivable opportunities and challenges of omics-based laboratory diagnostics, and a roadmap for improving MASLD biomarker research.
