Serum liver fibrosis test

ABSTRACT

The evaluation of fibrosis is crucial in the assessment of chronic liver disease. Liver biopsy has been a reference standard for assessing liver fibrosis. However, it has some drawbacks - invasiveness, risk of complications, and intra-observer/inter-observer variability. One of the promising tools for evaluating liver fibrosis is the Multivariate Index Assay, which combines the values of three biomarkers (hyaluronic acid, amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen, and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1) from serum samples. A systematic review was conducted to determine whether the test would be a safe and effective method for assessing liver fibrosis. A total of 16 diagnostic studies on the serum liver fibrosis test have been reported. Based on the literature published until January 2013, this test is safe and can be used as an adjunct tool for detecting liver fibrosis in a wide range of chronic liver diseases.