Coalition to push for earlier diagnosis of fatty liver disease MASLD
Mashnet-led collaboration to focus on expanding access to tests
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Mashnet, a network of health organizations in the U.S. and Europe, formed a coalition to broaden access to noninvasive diagnostic tools that can detect metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a type of fatty liver disease, early and safely, before serious liver damage occurs.
The MASLD Diagnostic Coalition brings together healthcare organizations and diagnostic companies to work across healthcare and industry to remove barriers so more patients can receive timely, accessible diagnosis and care.
“Advancing non-invasive testing isn’t just about technology,” Meena Bansal, MD, a professor of medicine and liver diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and scientific advisor to the coalition, said in a Mashnet press release. “It’s about empowering both providers and patients to act earlier, personalize care, and ultimately improve outcomes for the millions at risk.”
MASLD, formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is the most common chronic liver disease, affecting about 38% of adults and up to 14% of children and adolescents globally. It’s characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver, often associated with metabolic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
For many, MASLD causes no obvious symptoms in the early stages, so it often goes undetected. Some people experience non-specific symptoms like fatigue, abdominal discomfort, or general weakness, but many otherwise feel normal while liver damage slowly progresses.
A more severe form of the disease, called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), is marked by liver inflammation and fibrosis (scarring). Researchers expect MASH cases to rise by 20%-35% by 2030.
Underdiagnosis leaves many untreated
Without early diagnosis and treatment, MASLD and MASH can progress to serious conditions, including cirrhosis (permanent liver scarring), liver failure, liver cancer, and death.
“With various guidelines associations recommending the use of non-invasive diagnostics to detect liver fibrosis in patients with MASLD/MASH, early detection and management are critical to prevent disease progression to cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cardiovascular disease or death,” Mashnet said.
Despite its widespread impact, MASLD and MASH remain underdiagnosed. That means many people who are affected don’t have access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications, including Rezdiffra (resmetirom) for MASH, and Wegovy (semaglutide) for MASH with moderate to advanced fibrosis.
Founding members of the diagnostic coalition include Echosens, E-Scopics, Labcorp, Perspectum, Siemens Healthineers, and Sonic Incytes. They will focus on helping people gain easier access to safe, noninvasive tests for liver health, raising awareness and understanding of MASLD, and the importance of early detection.
“With new FDA-approved therapies finally available, our focus must turn to identifying patients and ensuring that every clinician, regardless of resources, has access to the right diagnostic tools,” Bansal said.
The initiative is supported by Novo Nordisk.
