title: Contemporary assessment of hepatic fibrosis.
abstract: Newer noninvasive tests have begun to replace liver biopsy for staging purposes. The clinician must evaluate these tools and apply them to individual patients. None of these modalities give the exact same staging of fibrosis as a liver biopsy, but they are excellent tools for risk stratification. Still, it should be recognized that there are disease-specific issues with different utilizations and cutoffs for different clinical diseases. This article provides a framework for incorporating the use of serum biomarkers and elastography-based approaches to stage fibrosis into clinical practice. This review also covers recent developments in this rapidly advancing area.
authors.affiliation: Liver Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonder
authors.affiliation: Liver Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Elliot B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Tapper
authors.affiliation: Liver Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: nafdhal@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Nezam H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Afdhal
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D002779:Cholestasis / Q000150:complications; D060085:Coinfection / Q000150:complications; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease / Q000150:complications; D010976:Platelet Count
chemical_list: D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase
keywords: Cirrhosis; Hepatitis; Liver biopsy; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease