DESIGN: We prospectively recruited 496 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who underwent VCTE by both M and XL probes within 1 week before liver biopsy.
RESULTS: 391 (78.8%) and 433 (87.3%) patients had reliable liver stiffness measurement (LSM) (10 successful acquisitions and IQR:median ratio ≤0.30) by M and XL probes, respectively (p<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was similar between the two probes (0.75-0.88 for F2-4, 0.83-0.91 for F4). When used in the same patient, LSM by XL probe was lower than that by M probe (mean difference 2.3 kPa). In contrast, patients with BMI ≥30 kg/m2 had higher LSM regardless of the probe used. When M and XL probes were used in patients with BMI <30 and ≥30 kg/m2, respectively, they yielded nearly identical median LSM at each fibrosis stage and similar diagnostic performance. Severe steatosis did not increase LSM or the rate of false-positive diagnosis by XL probe.
CONCLUSION: High BMI but not severe steatosis increases LSM. The same LSM cut-offs can be used without further adjustment for steatosis when M and XL probes are used according to the appropriate BMI.
METHODS: This was a multicenter study of 489 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 69 patients with NAFLD-related or cryptogenic HCC. Antihepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) was used to detect the previous HBV infection.
RESULTS: In the biopsy cohort, positive anti-HBc was associated with lower steatosis grade but higher fibrosis stage. 18.8% and 7.5% of patients with positive and negative anti-HBc had cirrhosis, respectively (P < 0.001). The association between anti-HBc and cirrhosis remained significant after adjusting for age and metabolic factors (adjusted odds ratio 2.232; 95% confidence interval, 1.202-4.147). At a mean follow-up of 6.2 years, patients with positive anti-HBc had a higher incidence of HCC or cirrhotic complications (6.5% vs 2.2%; P = 0.039). Among patients with NAFLD-related or cryptogenic HCC, 73.9% had positive anti-HBc. None of the patients had positive serum HBV DNA. By contrast, antihepatitis B surface antibody did not correlate with histological severity.
DISCUSSION: Positive anti-HBc is associated with cirrhosis and possibly HCC and cirrhotic complications in patients with NAFLD. Because a significant proportion of NAFLD-related HCC may develop in noncirrhotic patients, future studies should define the role of anti-HBc in selecting noncirrhotic patients with NAFLD for HCC surveillance.