Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 21, 2024; 30(47): 5070-5075
Published online Dec 21, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i47.5070
Exploring non-invasive diagnostics and non-imaging approaches for pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Toshifumi Yodoshi
Toshifumi Yodoshi, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto M5G 1X8, Ontario, Canada
Author contributions: Yodoshi T contributed to the concept, design, manuscript writing, and editing, as well as the review of the literature.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest 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: Toshifumi Yodoshi, MD, PhD, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Ave, Toronto M5G 1X8, Ontario, Canada. toshifumi.yodoshi@sickkids.ca
Received: July 30, 2024
Revised: October 16, 2024
Accepted: November 7, 2024
Published online: December 21, 2024
Processing time: 118 Days and 9.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This article reviews non-invasive diagnostic approaches and liver fibrosis assessment methods for pediatric metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), highlighting the recent nomenclature change and the significance of early diagnosis. MASLD is the most common chronic liver disease in children, with approximately half of the pediatric cases progressing to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis at diagnosis and already having comorbidities such as renal disease, sarcopenia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. While liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing MASLD, it is invasive. To avoid liver biopsy in children, developing non-invasive methods such as biomarkers, serum tests, and imaging is essential.