Among simple non-invasive scores, Pro-C3 and ADAPT best exclude advanced fibrosis in Asian patients with MAFLD.

Background: With metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) incidence and prevalence increasing, it is necessary to identify patients with advanced fibrosis (F3-F4 stages). We evaluated the performance of new biomarkers and algorithms for diagnosing advanced fibrosis in an Asian population.
Methods: Data from two Asian cohorts (including 851 biopsy-proven MAFLD [578 from Wenzhou, 273 from Hong Kong]) were studied. The association between N-terminal propeptide of type 3 collagen (PRO-C3) and the histologic stage of liver fibrosis was analyzed by multivariable linear regression. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to test the diagnostic performance of serum PRO-C3 and the ADAPT score for advanced fibrosis and compared them to other established non-invasive tests.
Results: Serum PRO-C3 levels increased progressively across liver fibrosis stages and correlated with advanced fibrosis (P < 0.001). The ADAPT score had an AUROC of 0.865 (95% confidence interval 0.829-0.901) for advanced fibrosis; the accuracy, sensitivity and negative predictive values were 81.4%, 82.2% and 96.1%, respectively. This result was better compared to that of PRO-C3 alone or other non-invasive fibrosis biomarkers (aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index, Fibrosis-4, BARD, and NAFLD fibrosis score). In subgroup analyses (including sex, age, diabetes, NAFLD activity score, body mass index or serum alanine aminotransferase levels), the ADAPT score had good diagnostic performance.
Conclusion: PRO-C3 and the ADAPT score reliably exclude advanced fibrosis in MAFLD patients and reduce the need for liver biopsy.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Although the PRO-C3 ELISA was carried out at Nordic Biosciences under a research collaboration, we confirm that cohort generation, research conceptualization, analysis, and manuscript drafting were carried out independent of the Nordic Biosciences team. ADAPT is not developed as a proprietary test. The PRO-C3 ELISA is not currently commercially available, but can be obtained as a Nordic Bioscience research test for research use only. Diana Julie Leeming is employed by, and owns stock in Nordic Bioscience. Pei Jiang and Li-Mei Gao are employed by Fosun Diagnostics (Shanghai). Grace Lai-Hung Wong and Vincent Wai-Sun Wong have served as speakers and/or consultants for Echosens. Other authors have no conflicts of interest.
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