A new experimental blood test matches the precision of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in tracking the severity of chronic liver disease, researchers reported at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases conference in Denver.
Traditional blood work detects liver cancer, but it cannot gauge whether a patient has metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a condition causing inflammation and scarring that can advance to cirrhosis and liver failure. Determining MASH stages currently requires an MRI or a liver biopsy.
How the Liquid Transformer Test Detects Liver Damage
The test, called Liquid Transformer and developed by Hepta, determines liver biology from DNA circulating in the bloodstream. Dr. Rohit Lumba of the University of California, San Diego, and Hepta’s chief medical and scientific adviser, stated in a release that MRI has long served as the gold standard non-invasive research tool for staging liver fibrosis without a biopsy.
Working alongside Hepta and Madrigal Pharmaceuticals—maker of Rezdiffra, the first approved MASH treatment—researchers demonstrated that the test accurately identifies damaged liver stages and pinpoints patients eligible for the medication. Across six separate presentations at the Denver conference, Liquid Transformer achieved an accuracy level close to MRI while outperforming ultrasound alternatives and the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) blood test.
Assay Differentiates Fatty Liver Disease Forms and Tracks Drug Shifts
In separate trials, the assay successfully differentiated between three forms of fatty liver disease: metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, alcohol-associated liver disease, and a hybrid of both.
The test also detected molecular shifts linked to GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment in patients taking semaglutide. Novo Nordisk sells semaglutide as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes, and the drug holds US approval for treating MASH, though researchers continue to study whether it provides liver benefits independent of weight loss.
Lumba emphasized that a blood test approaching MRI accuracy transforms treatment eligibility assessments. “Having a blood test that approaches the accuracy of MRI and outperforms [other alternatives] in determining eligibility for treatment represents a real step forward, and this is an important unmet need given the widespread availability and accessibility of blood tests,” he said.
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