Huang CX, Zhou XD, Pan CQ, Zheng MH. Screening for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease: Time to discard the emperor’s clothes of normal liver enzymes? World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(22): 2839-2842 [PMID: 38947289 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i22.2839]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ming-Hua Zheng, MD, PhD, Doctor, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Research Center, Department of Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Nanbaixiang Street, Ouhai District, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China. zhengmh@wmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
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/
Chen-Xiao Huang, Ming-Hua Zheng, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Research Center, Department of Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Xiao-Dong Zhou, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Diseases of Wenzhou, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Calvin Q Pan, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, New York University Langone Health, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 11355, United States
Ming-Hua Zheng, Institute of Hepatology, Wenzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment for the Development of Chronic Liver Disease in Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Huang CX wrote the first draft of the manuscript, Zhou XD and Pan CQ contributed to the conception and writing of the manuscript; Zheng MH contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported bythe National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82070588 and No. 82370577.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Calvin Q Pan received institutional research grants from Gilead Sciences, Inc. and Wuxi Hisky Medical Technologies Co., Ltd. Ming-Hua Zheng has received honoraria for lectures from AstraZeneca, Hisky Medical Technologies and Novo Nordisk, consulting fees from Boehringer Ingelheim. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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: Ming-Hua Zheng, MD, PhD, Doctor, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Research Center, Department of Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Nanbaixiang Street, Ouhai District, Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang Province, China. zhengmh@wmu.edu.cn
Received: March 10, 2024 Revised: April 28, 2024 Accepted: May 20, 2024 Published online: June 14, 2024 Processing time: 87 Days and 13.8 Hours
Abstract
Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver condition worldwide. Current liver enzyme-based screening methods have limitations that may missed diagnoses and treatment delays. Regarding Chen et al, the risk of developing MAFLD remains elevated even when alanine aminotransferase levels fall within the normal range. Therefore, there is an urgent need for advanced diagnostic techniques and updated algorithms to enhance the accuracy of MAFLD diagnosis and enable early intervention. This paper proposes two potential screening methods for identifying individuals who may be at risk of developing MAFLD: Lowering these thresholds and promoting the use of noninvasive liver fibrosis scores.
Core Tip: Screening and risk assessment procedures for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease by liver enzymes may result in underdiagnosis and treatment delays. To improve the screening methods, it is feasible to lower the normal thresholds for liver enzymes and promote the use of noninvasive liver fibrosis scores.
