R

Rohit Loomba

University of California San Diego

ORCID: 0000-0002-4845-9991

Publishes on Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment, Liver Disease and Transplantation, Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis. 1.2k papers and 103.9k citations.

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103.9kTotal Citations

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A multisociety Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature
Cited by 2.8kOpen Access

The principal limitations of the terms NAFLD and NASH are the reliance on exclusionary confounder terms and the use of potentially stigmatising language. This study set out to determine if content experts and patient advocates were in favor of a change in nomenclature and/or definition. A modified Delphi process was led by three large pan-national liver associations. The consensus was defined a priori as a supermajority (67%) vote. An independent committee of experts external to the nomenclature process made the final recommendation on the acronym and its diagnostic criteria. A total of 236 panelists from 56 countries participated in 4 online surveys and 2 hybrid meetings. Response rates across the 4 survey rounds were 87%, 83%, 83%, and 78%, respectively. Seventy-four percent of respondents felt that the current nomenclature was sufficiently flawed to consider a name change. The terms "nonalcoholic" and "fatty" were felt to be stigmatising by 61% and 66% of respondents, respectively. Steatotic liver disease was chosen as an overarching term to encompass the various aetiologies of steatosis. The term steatohepatitis was felt to be an important pathophysiological concept that should be retained. The name chosen to replace NAFLD was metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease. There was consensus to change the definition to include the presence of at least 1 of 5 cardiometabolic risk factors. Those with no metabolic parameters and no known cause were deemed to have cryptogenic steatotic liver disease. A new category, outside pure metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, termed metabolic and alcohol related/associated liver disease (MetALD), was selected to describe those with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, who consume greater amounts of alcohol per week (140-350 g/wk and 210-420 g/wk for females and males, respectively). The new nomenclature and diagnostic criteria are widely supported and nonstigmatising, and can improve awareness and patient identification.

A multisociety Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature
Mary E. Rinella, Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Vlad Ratziu et al.|Journal of Hepatology|2023
Cited by 2.6kOpen Access

The principal limitations of the terms NAFLD and NASH are the reliance on exclusionary confounder terms and the use of potentially stigmatising language. This study set out to determine if content experts and patient advocates were in favour of a change in nomenclature and/or definition. A modified Delphi process was led by three large pan-national liver associations. The consensus was defined a priori as a supermajority (67%) vote. An independent committee of experts external to the nomenclature process made the final recommendation on the acronym and its diagnostic criteria. A total of 236 panellists from 56 countries participated in 4 online surveys and 2 hybrid meetings. Response rates across the 4 survey rounds were 87%, 83%, 83%, and 78%, respectively. Seventy-four percent of respondents felt that the current nomenclature was sufficiently flawed to consider a name change. The terms "nonalcoholic" and "fatty" were felt to be stigmatising by 61% and 66% of respondents, respectively. Steatotic liver disease was chosen as an overarching term to encompass the various aetiologies of steatosis. The term steatohepatitis was felt to be an important pathophysiological concept that should be retained. The name chosen to replace NAFLD was metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). There was consensus to change the definition to include the presence of at least 1 of 5 cardiometabolic risk factors. Those with no metabolic parameters and no known cause were deemed to have cryptogenic steatotic liver disease. A new category, outside pure metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, termed metabolic and alcohol related/associated liver disease (MetALD), was selected to describe those with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, who consume greater amounts of alcohol per week (140-350 g/wk and 210-420 g/wk for females and males, respectively). The new nomenclature and diagnostic criteria are widely supported and non-stigmatising, and can improve awareness and patient identification.

Modeling the epidemic of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease demonstrates an exponential increase in burden of disease
Chris Estes, Homie Razavi, Rohit Loomba et al.|Hepatology|2017
Cited by 2.4kOpen Access

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and resulting nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are highly prevalent in the United States, where they are a growing cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and increasingly an indicator for liver transplantation. A Markov model was used to forecast NAFLD disease progression. Incidence of NAFLD was based on historical and projected changes in adult prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Assumptions were derived from published literature where available and validated using national surveillance data for incidence of NAFLD-related HCC. Projected changes in NAFLD-related cirrhosis, advanced liver disease, and liver-related mortality were quantified through 2030. Prevalent NAFLD cases are forecasted to increase 21%, from 83.1 million (2015) to 100.9 million (2030), while prevalent NASH cases will increase 63% from 16.52 million to 27.00 million cases. Overall NAFLD prevalence among the adult population (aged ≥15 years) is projected at 33.5% in 2030, and the median age of the NAFLD population will increase from 50 to 55 years during 2015-2030. In 2015, approximately 20% of NAFLD cases were classified as NASH, increasing to 27% by 2030, a reflection of both disease progression and an aging population. Incidence of decompensated cirrhosis will increase 168% to 105,430 cases by 2030, while incidence of HCC will increase by 137% to 12,240 cases. Liver deaths will increase 178% to an estimated 78,300 deaths in 2030. During 2015-2030, there are projected to be nearly 800,000 excess liver deaths. CONCLUSION: With continued high rates of adult obesity and DM along with an aging population, NAFLD-related liver disease and mortality will increase in the United States. Strategies to slow the growth of NAFLD cases and therapeutic options are necessary to mitigate disease burden. (Hepatology 2018;67:123-133).

AASLD Practice Guidance on the clinical assessment and management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Cited by 2.2kOpen Access

PREAMBLE The study of NAFLD has intensified significantly, with more than 1400 publications since 2018, when the last American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Guidance document was published.1 This new AASLD Guidance document reflects many advances in the field pertinent to any practitioner caring for patients with NAFLD and emphasizes advances in noninvasive risk stratification and therapeutics. A separate guideline focused on the management of patients with NAFLD in the context of diabetes has been written jointly by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and AASLD.2 Given the significant growth in pediatric NAFLD, it will not be covered here to allow for a more robust discussion of the diagnosis and management of pediatric NAFLD in the upcoming AASLD Pediatric NAFLD Guidance. A “Guidance” differs from a “Guideline” in that it is not bound by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment Development and Evaluation system. Thus, actionable statements rather than formal recommendations are provided herein. The highest available level of evidence was used to develop these statements, and, where high-level evidence was not available, expert opinion was used to develop guidance statements to inform clinical practice. Key points highlight important concepts relevant to understanding the disease and its management. The most profound advances in NAFLD relevant to clinical practice are in biomarkers and therapeutics. Biomarkers and noninvasive tests (NITs) can be used clinically to either exclude advanced diseases or identify those with a high probability of cirrhosis.3,4 NIT “cut points” vary with the populations studied, underlying disease severity, and clinical setting. Those proposed in this guidance are meant to aid decision-making in the clinic and are not meant to be interpreted in isolation. Identifying patients with “at-risk” NASH (biopsy-proven NASH with stage 2 or higher fibrosis) is a more recent area of interest. Although the definitive diagnosis and staging of NASH remain linked to histology, noninvasive tools can now be used to assess the likelihood of significant fibrosis, predict risk of disease progression and decompensation, make management decisions, and, to some degree, assess response to treatment. There is an ongoing debate over the nomenclature of fatty liver disease, which had not been finalized at the time this guidance was published. At the culmination of a rigorous consensus process, it is intended that any formal change in nomenclature will advance the field without a negative impact on disease awareness, clinical trial endpoints, or the drug development/approval process. Furthermore, it should allow for the emergence of newly recognized disease subtypes to address the impact of disease heterogeneity, including the role of alcohol, on disease progression and response to therapy. Input from patients has been central to all stages of the consensus process to ensure the minimization of nomenclature-related stigma. DEFINITIONS NAFLD is an overarching term that includes all disease grades and stages and refers to a population in which ≥5% of hepatocytes display macrovesicular steatosis in the absence of a readily identified alternative cause of steatosis (eg, medications, starvation, monogenic disorders) in individuals who drink little or no alcohol (defined as < 20 g/d for women and <30 g/d for men). The spectrum of disease includes NAFL, characterized by macrovesicular hepatic steatosis that may be accompanied by mild inflammation, and NASH, which is additionally characterized by the presence of inflammation and cellular injury (ballooning), with or without fibrosis, and finally cirrhosis, which is characterized by bands of fibrous septa leading to the formation of cirrhotic nodules, in which the earlier features of NASH may no longer be fully appreciated on a liver biopsy. UPDATE ON EPIDEMIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY The prevalence of NAFLD and NASH is rising worldwide in parallel with increases in the prevalence of obesity and metabolic comorbid disease (insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, central obesity, and hypertension).5,6 The prevalence of NAFLD in adults is estimated to be 25%–30% in the general population7–9 and varies with the clinical setting, race/ethnicity, and geographic region studied but often remains undiagnosed.10–14 The associated economic burden attributable to NASH is substantial.15–17 The prevalence of NASH in the general population is challenging to determine with certainty; however, NASH was identified in 14% of asymptomatic patients undergoing colon cancer screening.14 This study also highlights that since the publication of a prior prospective prevalence study,18 the prevalence of clinically significant fibrosis (stage 2 or higher fibrosis) has increased >2-fold. 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disease including compensated on the and of in patients with cirrhosis, with be in patients with high can be and with fatty or with diabetes are at higher risk for NASH and advanced fibrosis and should be for advanced with NAFLD should be for the presence of Key and of is higher patients with NASH and advanced from is a cause of in patients with NAFLD, and to cancer has the to A NAFLD with NAFLD are most with hepatic steatosis on or liver is important to that provided by most are higher than should be in NAFLD, in which a from to in and from to in of patients should for metabolic of alcohol and of of liver disease as as to identify of and advanced liver disease the clinical is (eg, not associated with metabolic or accompanied by or of steatosis or should be of steatosis or can in or an NASH and should be in clinical can also to hepatic steatosis or or disease in those with underlying NAFLD and should be identified Although risk stratification is not in clinical of and NAFLD in the risk for NAFLD, NASH, and advanced 2 to for of hepatic steatosis and Clinical and advanced fibrosis in steatosis on liver (eg, disease on liver disease with to macrovesicular steatosis or of of steatosis and of hepatic to steatosis of of or may not be of metabolic risk and injury injury to of of metabolic of of hepatic of alcohol can be an important to fatty liver disease progression and should be in all can be as mild to 20 and and or and alcohol increases the probability of advanced in patients with obesity or of and alcohol on liver disease and alcohol the risk of liver cirrhosis, and from liver alcohol liver injury and fibrosis progression and should be in patients with a of mild alcohol on the of but in a alcohol (defined as was associated with in steatosis and and of NASH with patients who not alcohol may the risk for and is in to liver with an of on the to impact disease at an The impact of alcohol and on the of patients with NAFLD, alcohol can be a for liver disease and should be on a with clinically significant hepatic fibrosis should from alcohol Key for those patients with alcohol may the of fibrosis progression and hepatic and in patients with to its with obesity and metabolic risk higher of NAFLD been in patients with growth and the role of in the of hepatic the NAFLD and in remains significant NAFLD and or was in a however, a study of patients for a of was associated with a higher of and the of its metabolic growth are important of and and cellular is associated with and increased and can in resistance, and a growth in patients with NAFLD and associated with obesity and cause of is associated with resistance, and dyslipidemia, with a an increased risk for NASH and of in with and NAFLD been and a study of adults with with and liver in NASH with and hepatic steatosis by patients with and NAFLD, a which and increases growth without liver the a in the and NAFLD is linked to in and resistance, but is not for all A of and and A that NAFLD was associated with in but higher in a by The and NAFLD is often by the presence of obesity and resistance, of which are to be associated with can also resistance, and to the of hepatic study in that a level was associated with NAFLD, and the was for and in study including with by and liver histology, the and steatosis when for and obesity, with no to the of liver or in resistance, and a more role of on metabolic risk for NAFLD in but it should be for as it may The role of and in NAFLD is associated with increased liver as as a higher prevalence of NAFLD and advanced The prevalence of NAFLD is higher in with that higher in women are associated with an increased risk of NAFLD Furthermore, is a likelihood of NAFLD in higher of as as an and the of on NAFLD, hepatic in study that to from and are in The associated increased to the and progression of NAFLD, has not been of in and population a to in the prevalence of NAFLD and an increased risk of women with that is the of disease in a study of women with NAFLD was associated with the of and advanced fibrosis for and this study not for resistance, which may the NAFLD is more in with but not of is as by clinical or this should be Key Although and may be associated with hepatic role on the and progression of and fibrosis remains to be can in women with which with obesity and can NAFLD and more disease in this NAFLD Although NAFLD is associated with obesity, it can also in or in are with or and the prevalence of NAFLD in individuals varies from in the to as high as in with with NAFLD increased metabolic and and in the may also to NAFLD in a significant role in this but the to NAFLD individuals with NAFLD are more of or which is in by a higher prevalence of the in the which to NASH and fibrosis but is more in individuals with NAFLD with patients who or had but is not as it not can also a role and should be in patients of NAFLD in patients without obesity can be clinically may not be for patients with NAFLD, but and in this may be of populations at increased risk for advanced liver disease is to identify and those with clinically significant fibrosis (stage in as those with obesity with metabolic a of or significant alcohol also separate discussion on the role of may identify those with asymptomatic but clinically significant of patients for that may hepatic of is important of with NASH a higher risk of advanced Furthermore, the risk of NAFLD and advanced fibrosis may be of risk and recommendations are in for advanced fibrosis in populations of advanced fibrosis, obesity NAFLD in context of alcohol of a with to 2 diabetes of advanced fibrosis in population should NAFLD be in and practice most NAFLD is asymptomatic or associated with often patients The prevalence of advanced disease is in than in and the to is context to NAFLD on the of metabolic risk or identified as fatty liver by in the absence of of hepatic steatosis disease, disease, alcohol should risk The of this risk is to identify patients who are not to advanced fibrosis to the negative of in in advanced fibrosis, patients in can be in patients with metabolic risk those with or should more risk with patients with and advanced hepatic fibrosis a from available clinical and may be and allow for the of as progression to or decompensation, the of may be robust in patients with more are available, it is that the for in patients with will for the of patients at risk for or with NAFLD practice with steatosis on or for is a clinical of NAFLD, as those with metabolic risk or in liver should with a prevalence of advanced fibrosis, as in the setting, the is on advanced fibrosis a with a high negative the is patients can be in the and without 2 diabetes and metabolic risk can be with or 2 or more metabolic risk are at higher risk for disease and more (eg, should be patients than a of should be has in those should be in those with increased metabolic risk or liver should not be used in patients with a should be or Liver or the for risk stratification in a to should be in those with to exclude of liver disease or when to the increased risk of clinically significant higher prevalence as risk with may be when noninvasive tests (NITs) are or is clinical of more advanced of should for and or may identify patients with “at-risk” NASH with NAFLD and fibrosis stage who may from a as is on clinical or management may be without a liver biopsy. Liver should be when significant fibrosis the presence of “at-risk” NASH (eg, or NIT is are or are that in patients with or advanced fibrosis, an is a of and is for this of in risk is on expert at all stages of disease should be on and those with fibrosis for as of are supported by evidence and are meant to clinical management to rather than be interpreted in isolation. who may a or high risk of advanced disease on should risk the setting, or as are over as to The Liver is for when advanced fibrosis is it can be for risk the of may be in some risk is with an or high risk of fibrosis, patients should be to for and those patients with advanced hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis, or of of or may the of are often used clinically to identify patients with liver disease but can be in patients with NASH, and advanced hepatic Although are for the of with advanced fibrosis, and or or a of may the presence of liver are the provided by most clinical which is to the of of patients with for NAFLD from risk stratification in the and practice The in the is the of patients with “at-risk” NASH or advanced patients and may from tools as or can be used to risk patients in been or not of clinical Liver should be when is as may with or and or features a diagnosis of advanced or (eg, or when is in liver for NAFLD is not patients with hepatic steatosis or clinically NAFLD on the presence of obesity and metabolic risk should risk with as those with obesity, of cirrhosis, or more than mild alcohol should be for advanced patients with or 2 or more metabolic risk evidence of hepatic risk with should be with NASH are at the highest risk for and for and for with advanced NASH or should be to a for are in patients with advanced liver disease to NASH and should not be used in to exclude the presence of NASH with clinically significant of patients with NASH should be increased risk and for advanced hepatic Key with “at-risk” NASH with at stage 2 fibrosis) are at increased risk of and AND NAFLD Although liver remains the for the and staging of NASH, it has important to and liver for and staging of NASH are not in clinical practice and should be for clinical biomarkers are as tools for more an important of liver of noninvasive biomarkers in with the and of will the diagnosis of patients with clinically disease and response to without the for liver and of hepatic steatosis Although used in clinical for of in those with and a of steatosis The absence of steatosis on not exclude the presence of NASH or the presence of fibrosis, can be when cirrhotic liver is identified or it evidence of (eg, the of hepatic the in with a of hepatic steatosis but not or in liver is an and for liver that is used in clinical role in clinical practice is it is used in Although is to in the diagnosis as as the of liver this is by and the of not a of liver fibrosis in patients with or NAFLD Clinical and fibrosis biomarkers from clinical can of the presence of advanced fibrosis been (eg, NAFLD however, is the most is a and and in its to identify patients with a probability of advanced of and also been associated with and in a change in from risk to risk to high risk may be used to assess clinical Although is to fibrosis as the and to advanced fibrosis, is as a for general and on its and The is a of in of and of patients with NAFLD at increased risk of progression to and clinical The is for clinical as a in the and fibrosis tests may be as risk when is not available for the noninvasive of NAFLD to clinical context of of hepatic steatosis with steatosis can as advanced fibrosis for ≥5% spectrum of to assess of “at-risk” NASH in the of and patients with at stage 2 fibrosis with of advanced fibrosis not in and individuals who high probability not in with obesity 2 to a to a of points not points not with advanced fibrosis, of of or for and for cirrhosis, is associated with increased risk of hepatic patients with by is associated with cirrhosis, but for is by has a for diagnosis of and is also associated with increased risk of hepatic “at-risk” NASH is defined as NASH with stage area the clinical Liver liver in and liver from and NAFLD Liver is a of the liver that increases with fibrosis as as as inflammation, and (eg, is the most used to assess liver and can be used to exclude significant hepatic A recent that a liver can be used to advanced fibrosis, used by and may be associated with NASH, and is associated with a high likelihood of advanced fibrosis, the is in liver may also be in disease that an in liver of on either or may be associated with disease progression and clinical patients with cirrhosis, a with a and by had a of an will some patients with to of these of points to exclude advanced fibrosis and high points to identify advanced fibrosis may be used more points for and are but not been with the more on is more than in the of fibrosis stage and is to be the most of fibrosis in Although is not a to risk stratification in a with NAFLD, it can be an important clinical is a for or when are patients with cirrhosis, by risk of hepatic and The of that with the stage of fibrosis is by is of the Liver by may also be to assess the risk of of and associated with risk of hepatic or that the for by and are but the are provided of these with a of and that associated with and risk of over of a in liver is associated with a higher risk of as as Although more are NIT in patients with may be as for in response to study for the of “at-risk” NASH and biomarkers are study for the of NASH, but these not the level of clinical evidence for in clinical practice. of biomarkers including and and and and biomarkers are in for “at-risk” as may also be for the of “at-risk” an of the this in not been and over remains to be that clinical with liver that may be of are The is a from liver and by and for the of “at-risk” with study on and a with has been to be to A with has been linked to increased risk of hepatic decompensation, and a negative with has a negative for a risk of hepatic A from and is also to identify “at-risk” as a on and may be but of over the over to be and the of in on the context of Although can hepatic it is not as a to identify hepatic steatosis to the NAFLD as a may be used to identify can additionally is or may be used to exclude advanced Key liver and can predict an increased risk of hepatic and AND of NAFLD should of of and staging of fibrosis assess these with a should be at in but in and are also the spectrum of