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Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases
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Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases

A special issue of Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Laboratory Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 16155

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Po-Heng Chuang

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Gastroenterology, Division of Internal Medicine, Jen-Ai Hospital, Taichung 412224, Taiwan
2. Center for Digestive Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan
Interests: hepatology; liver cancer; liver tumor biopsy and ablation; contrast ultrasound
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ching-Sheng Hsu

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Liver Diseases Prevention and Treatment Center, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chia-Yi and School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan
Interests: liver cancer; viral hepatitis; fatty liver; liver cirrhosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Sheng-Nan Lu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333323, Taiwan
2. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Division of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833401, Taiwan
Interests: hepatology; liver diseases; intervention ultrasonography; epidemiology; preventive medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There are many kinds of liver diseases caused by drugs, poisons, alcohol, parasites, funguses, viruses, metabolic or inherited, and also primary liver tumors and metastatic liver cancers. We are pleased to welcome you to introduce your advanced studies or new devices or drugs in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of liver parenchyma diseases, bile duct injuries, intrahepatic space-occupying lesions, and tissue or serum biomarkers.

This Special Issue welcomes your contributions covering the current aspects of prevention, diagnosis, and management of liver diseases. Submissions may include articles of current original research, experimental methodology, artificial intelligence, the introduction of new devices or drugs, and review articles summarizing the current status of biomarkers or images or pathologic diagnosis and management of liver disease. I look forward to accepting your contributions.

Best Regards,

Dr. Po-Heng Chuang
Prof. Dr. Ching-Sheng Hsu
Prof. Dr. Sheng-Nan Lu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diagnostics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • liver parenchyma diseases
  • fatty liver
  • hepatitis
  • intrahepaticc space-occupying lesions
  • abscess liver cancer
  • biomarkers
  • artificial intelligence

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2999 KiB  
Article
Prognostic Factors for Mortality in Hepatocellular Carcinoma at Diagnosis: Development of a Predictive Model Using Artificial Intelligence
by Pablo Martínez-Blanco, Miguel Suárez, Sergio Gil-Rojas, Ana María Torres, Natalia Martínez-García, Pilar Blasco, Miguel Torralba and Jorge Mateo
Diagnostics 2024, 14(4), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14040406 - 13 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1335
Abstract
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 75% of primary liver tumors. Controlling risk factors associated with its development and implementing screenings in risk populations does not seem sufficient to improve the prognosis of these patients at diagnosis. The development of a predictive prognostic [...] Read more.
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 75% of primary liver tumors. Controlling risk factors associated with its development and implementing screenings in risk populations does not seem sufficient to improve the prognosis of these patients at diagnosis. The development of a predictive prognostic model for mortality at the diagnosis of HCC is proposed. Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study, the analysis of data from 191 HCC patients was conducted using machine learning (ML) techniques to analyze the prognostic factors of mortality that are significant at the time of diagnosis. Clinical and analytical data of interest in patients with HCC were gathered. Results: Meeting Milan criteria, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification and albumin levels were the variables with the greatest impact on the prognosis of HCC patients. The ML algorithm that achieved the best results was random forest (RF). Conclusions: The development of a predictive prognostic model at the diagnosis is a valuable tool for patients with HCC and for application in clinical practice. RF is useful and reliable in the analysis of prognostic factors in the diagnosis of HCC. The search for new prognostic factors is still necessary in patients with HCC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases)
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13 pages, 1191 KiB  
Article
Serum Phosphorus, Serum Bicarbonate, and Renal Function in Relation to Liver CYP1A2 Activity
by Joy Ito, Hector Lemus and Tianying Wu
Diagnostics 2023, 13(18), 2996; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13182996 - 19 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1322
Abstract
The liver plays an important role in normal metabolism and physiological functions such as acid-base balance; however, limited epidemiologic studies have investigated how the liver contributes toward acid-base balance using non-invasive biomarkers. We determined associations between serum biomarkers related to acid-base balance and [...] Read more.
The liver plays an important role in normal metabolism and physiological functions such as acid-base balance; however, limited epidemiologic studies have investigated how the liver contributes toward acid-base balance using non-invasive biomarkers. We determined associations between serum biomarkers related to acid-base balance and renal function with liver CYP1A2 activity. We used data from 1381 participants of the 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) with measurements of serum phosphorus, serum bicarbonate, caffeine intake, caffeine metabolites, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Liver CYP1A2 activity was estimated using urine caffeine metabolite indices, which were calculated as the ratio of one of the urine caffeine metabolites (i.e., paraxanthine and 1-methyluric acid) to caffeine intake. We analyzed associations in the whole data set and in different strata of hepatic steatosis index (HSI) based on different cut-points. We found that serum bicarbonate was positively associated with CYP1A2 activity in the whole data set when comparing persons with bicarbonate at Q4 to Q1 (β = 0.18, p = 0.10 for paraxanthine; β = 0.20, p = 0.02 for 1-methyluric acid). Furthermore, serum phosphorus was positively associated with CYP1A2 activity only in the stratum of 30 ≤ HSI < 36. Lastly, low eGFR was significantly associated with lower CYP1A2 activity measured with paraxanthine in the whole dataset and in all the strata with HSI < 42; when comparing eGFR < 60 to eGFR > 90, β estimates ranged from −0.41 to −1.38, p-values ranged from 0.0018 to 0.004. We observed an opposite trend in the highest stratum (HSI ≥ 42). Non-invasive measurements of serum bicarbonate, serum phosphorus, and eGFR have dynamic associations with CYP1A2 activity. These associations depend on the extent of liver damage and the caffeine metabolite used to assess CYP1A2 activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases)
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14 pages, 1684 KiB  
Article
Short Half-Life of Des-γ-Carboxy Prothrombin Is a Superior Factor for Early Prediction of Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Radiofrequency Ablation
by Chih-Chien Yao, Jing-Houng Wang, Chien-Hung Chen, Chao-Hung Hung, Yi-Hao Yen, Kwong-Ming Kee, Tsung-Hui Hu, Ming-Chao Tsai, Yuan-Hung Kuo and Sheng-Nan Lu
Diagnostics 2023, 13(4), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13040696 - 12 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1680
Abstract
Background: The role of des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) needs to be clarified. Materials and methods: 174 HCC patients that underwent RFA were enrolled. We calculated the HLs of DCP from the available values before [...] Read more.
Background: The role of des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) needs to be clarified. Materials and methods: 174 HCC patients that underwent RFA were enrolled. We calculated the HLs of DCP from the available values before and on first day after ablation and assessed the correlation between HLs of DCP and RFA efficacy. Results: Of 174 patients, 63 with pre-ablation DCP concentrations of ≥80 mAU/mL were analyzed. The ROC analysis showed the optimal cut-off value of HLs of DCP for predicting RFA response was 47.5 h. Therefore, we defined short HLs of DCP < 48 h as a predictor of favorable treatment response. Of 43 patients with a complete radiological response, 34 (79.1%) had short HLs of DCP. In 36 patients with short HLs of DCP, 34 (94.4%) had a complete radiologic response. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 79.1%, 90.0%, 82.5%, 94.4%, and 66.7%. During the 12-month follow-up, patients who had short HLs of DCP had a better disease-free survival rate than patients with long HLs of DCP (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Short HLs of DCP < 48 h calculated on the first day post-RFA are a useful predictor for treatment response and recurrence-free survival after RFA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases)
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Review

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16 pages, 1948 KiB  
Review
Ultrasound Evaluation of Sarcopenia in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Faster and Easier Way to Detect Patients at Risk
by Giorgio Esposto, Raffaele Borriello, Linda Galasso, Fabrizio Termite, Irene Mignini, Lucia Cerrito, Maria Elena Ainora, Antonio Gasbarrini and Maria Assunta Zocco
Diagnostics 2024, 14(4), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14040371 - 8 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1588
Abstract
The condition of sarcopenia, defined as a progressive loss of musculoskeletal mass and muscular strength, is very common in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and presents a remarkable association with its prognosis. Thus, the early identification of sarcopenic patients represents one of the [...] Read more.
The condition of sarcopenia, defined as a progressive loss of musculoskeletal mass and muscular strength, is very common in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and presents a remarkable association with its prognosis. Thus, the early identification of sarcopenic patients represents one of the potential new approaches in the global assessment of HCC, and there is increasing interest regarding the potential therapeutic implications of this condition. The gold standard for the quantification of muscle mass is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT), but these techniques are not always feasible because of the high-cost equipment needed. A new possibility in sarcopenia identification could be muscle ultrasound examination. The measurement of specific parameters such as the muscle thickness, muscular fascicles length or pennation angle has shown a good correlation with CT or MRI values and a good diagnostic accuracy in the detection of sarcopenia. Recently, these results were also confirmed specifically in patients with chronic liver disease. This review summarizes the role of imaging for the diagnosis of sarcopenia in patients with HCC, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of the diagnostic techniques currently validated for this aim and the future perspectives for the identification of this condition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases)
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12 pages, 285 KiB  
Review
Current Challenges and Future Perspectives of Diagnosis of Hepatitis B Virus
by Manoj Kumar, Sangeeta Pahuja, Prashant Khare and Anoop Kumar
Diagnostics 2023, 13(3), 368; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics13030368 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6566
Abstract
It is estimated that approximately 260 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which is one of the leading causes of liver disease and liver cancer throughout the world. Compared with developed countries, low-income and middle-income countries have limited [...] Read more.
It is estimated that approximately 260 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which is one of the leading causes of liver disease and liver cancer throughout the world. Compared with developed countries, low-income and middle-income countries have limited access to resources and advanced technologies that require highly specialized staff for HBV diagnosis. In spite of the heavy burden caused by hepatitis B virus, 90% of people are still undiagnosed. The World Health Organization (WHO) goal of eliminating hepatitis B by 2030 seems very difficult to achieve due to the existing diagnostic infrastructure in low-resource regions. The majority of diagnostic laboratories still use hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-based tests. WHO’s elimination plan is at risk of derailment due to phases like the window period, immune control, and occult HBV infection (OBI) not being detected by standard tests. Here, in this article, we are focusing on various diagnostic platforms for the better diagnosis of HBV. The aim of the elimination of HBV can only be achieved by detecting all phases of HBV infection, which can be executed by a combined approach of using new marker assays along with advanced pretesting and testing methods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases)

Other

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10 pages, 1774 KiB  
Brief Report
Comparison of Transient Elastography and Point Shear Wave Elastography for Analysis of Liver Stiffness: A Prospective Study
by Giuseppe Losurdo, Ilaria Ditonno, Domenico Novielli, Francesca Celiberto, Andrea Iannone, Antonino Castellaneta, Paola Dell’Aquila, Nunzio Ranaldo, Maria Rendina, Michele Barone, Enzo Ierardi and Alfredo Di Leo
Diagnostics 2024, 14(6), 604; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics14060604 - 12 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2478
Abstract
Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by Fibroscan is the most used non-invasive method to assess liver fibrosis. Recently, point-shear wave elastography (pSWE) has been introduced as a simple alternative non-invasive test. Therefore, we aimed to compare the results of these two techniques. One hundred [...] Read more.
Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by Fibroscan is the most used non-invasive method to assess liver fibrosis. Recently, point-shear wave elastography (pSWE) has been introduced as a simple alternative non-invasive test. Therefore, we aimed to compare the results of these two techniques. One hundred and eighty-four consecutive patients attending our outpatient ultrasound clinic were recruited. LSM was performed by both Fibroscan and pSWE. Statistical analysis was conducted by Spearman’s test for correlation and linear regression. Bland–Altman graphs and ROC curves were drawn with area under the curve (AUC). Overall, the correlation of LS between Fibroscan and pSWE was substantial (r = 0.68, p < 0.001). Linear regression showed a coefficient b= 0.94 ± 0.02. The Bland–Altman plot found a bias of −0.10, with only 11 values exceeding the 95% confidence interval. When only considering patients with a LSM of > 10 kPa (n = 31), we found an excellent r = 0.79 (0.60–0.90, p < 0.001). A cutoff of 12.15 kPa for pSWE had sensitivity = 74.2% and specificity = 99.3% to detect relevant fibrosis, with an AUC = 0.98. The highest correlation was observed for hepatitis C (r = 0.91) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD)(r = 0.99). In conclusion, pSWE shows LSM estimation in agreement with Fibroscan in most cases, and the best concordance was observed for hepatitis C and ALD, and for higher ranges of LS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Liver Diseases)
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