Non-invasive fibrosis assessment in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

[3] Although the current “gold standard” for staging liver fibrosis is the liver biopsy, the invasive nature of this method limits its utility in routine clinical practice. A broad categorization of some of these alternative tests includes serum biomarkers of liver fibrosis, imaging techniques, genomic markers, or a combination of the above diagnostic tests, for example, Fibrometer-VCTE (using ‘vibration-controlled transient elastography’ technology together with serum biomarkers) and FAST score (test combining ‘FibroScan’ with ‘aspartate transaminase’ [AST] levels). [...]the latter are not direct measurements of liver fibrosis, making them less accurate for assessing hepatic fibrogenesis compared to direct biomarkers. With the genomic information that can be obtained from transcriptomics, including the expression of non-coding RNAs (and more specifically microRNAs [miR]), it should be possible to further improve the screening tests for predicting disease progression in patients with NAFLD, since miRs provide insight into molecular signatures for processes such as liver fibrosis and inflammation.