Fewer needles in the liver: blood tests and scans match the biopsy in the largest study of its kind

Diagnosing serious fatty liver disease — the kind that quietly scars the liver — has long meant a biopsy: a needle, a hospital day, a small risk. Two international studies from the LITMUS programme, the largest effort of its kind, now show a gentler path works. The main study, published in The Lancet, tested blood tests and ultrasound-based stiffness measurements in more than 1,500 patients; a companion study in Nature Medicine examined advanced MRI and scanning techniques in more than 350. Together they support a simple stepped approach: start with an ordinary blood test, move to a specialised blood test or a FibroScan (a painless ultrasound probe) for those who need more, and save advanced imaging for specialist care. 'A simplified diagnostic pathway' is how Professor Quentin Anstee of Newcastle University, the programme's coordinator, describes it — fewer biopsies, earlier answers.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation