Increased accuracy in identifying NAFLD with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis: independent validation of the Agile 3+ and 4 scores.

We explored 2 novel scores, Agile 3+ and 4, to identify advanced fibrosis (≥F3) and cirrhosis (F4), respectively, in NAFLD and compared their diagnostic performances to liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by vibration-controlled transient elastography and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) (for Agile 3+). This multicenter study included 548 NAFLD patients with laboratory testing, liver biopsy, and vibration-controlled transient elastography within 6 months. Agile 3+ and 4 were applied and compared with FIB-4 or LSM alone. Goodness of fit was evaluated using a calibration plot and discrimination using area under the receiver operating curve. Area under the receiver operating curves was compared using the Delong test. Dual cutoff approaches were applied to rule out and rule in ≥F3 and F4. Median (interquartile range) age was 58 (15) years. Median body mass index was 33.3 (8.5) kg/m2. Fifty-three percent had type 2 diabetes, 20% had F3, and 26% had F4. Agile 3+ demonstrated an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.85 (0.81; 0.88) similar to that of LSM [0.83 (0.79; 0.86), p=0.142] but significantly higher than that of FIB-4 [0.77 (0.73; 0.81), p<0.0001). Agile 4's area under the receiver operating curve [0.85 (0.81; 0.88)] was similar to that of LSM [0.85 (0.81; 0.88), p=0.065). However, the percentage of patients with indeterminate results was significantly lower with Agile scores compared with FIB-4 and LSM (Agile 3+: 14% vs. FIB-4: 31% vs. LSM: 13%, p<0.001; Agile 4: 23% vs. LSM: 38%, p<0.001). Agile 3+ and 4 are novel vibration-controlled transient elastography-based noninvasive scores that increase accuracy in the identification of advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis respectively and are ideal for clinical use due to a lower percentage of indeterminant outputs compared with FIB-4 or LSM alone.

Noureddin M ，Mena E ，Vuppalanchi R ，Samala N ，Wong M ，Pacheco F ，Polanco P ，Sakkal C ，Antaramian A ，Chang D ，Noureddin N ，Kohli A ，Harrison SA ，Gawrieh S ，Alkhouri N ，Truong E ... -  《Hepatology Communications》

Noninvasive assessment of liver disease severity in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes.

We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of simple, noninvasive tests (NITs) in NAFLD patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This was an individual patient data meta-analysis of 1780 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and T2D. The index tests of interest were FIB-4, NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index, liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by vibration-controlled transient elastography, and AGILE 3+. The target conditions were advanced fibrosis, NASH, and fibrotic NASH(NASH plus F2-F4 fibrosis). The diagnostic performance of noninvasive tests. individually or in sequential combination, was assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve and by decision curve analysis. Comparison with 2278 NAFLD patients without T2D was also made. In NAFLD with T2D LSM and AGILE 3+ outperformed, both NFS and FIB-4 for advanced fibrosis (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve:LSM 0.82, AGILE 3+ 0.82, NFS 0.72, FIB-4 0.75, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index 0.68; p < 0.001 of LSM-based versus simple serum tests), with an uncertainty area of 12%-20%. The combination of serum-based with LSM-based tests for advanced fibrosis led to a reduction of 40%-60% in necessary LSM tests. Decision curve analysis showed that all scores had a modest net benefit for ruling out advanced fibrosis at the risk threshold of 5%-10% of missing advanced fibrosis. LSM and AGILE 3+ outperformed both NFS and FIB-4 for fibrotic NASH (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve:LSM 0.79, AGILE 3+ 0.77, NFS 0.71, FIB-4 0.71; p < 0.001 of LSM-based versus simple serum tests). All noninvasive scores were suboptimal for diagnosing NASH. LSM and AGILE 3+ individually or in low availability settings in sequential combination after FIB-4 or NFS have a similar good diagnostic accuracy for advanced fibrosis and an acceptable diagnostic accuracy for fibrotic NASH in NAFLD patients with T2D.

Pennisi G ，Enea M ，Falco V ，Aithal GP ，Palaniyappan N ，Yilmaz Y ，Boursier J ，Cassinotto C ，de Lédinghen V ，Chan WK ，Mahadeva S ，Eddowes P ，Newsome P ，Karlas T ，Wiegand J ，Wong VW ，Schattenberg JM ，Labenz C ，Kim W ，Lee MS ，Lupsor-Platon M ，Cobbold JFL ，Fan JG ，Shen F ，Staufer K ，Trauner M ，Stauber R ，Nakajima A ，Yoneda M ，Bugianesi E ，Younes R ，Gaia S ，Zheng MH ，Cammà C ，Anstee QM ，Mózes FE ，Pavlides M ，Petta S ... -  《-》

AGILE 3+ Score for the Diagnosis of Advanced Fibrosis and for Predicting Liver-related Events in NAFLD.

We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of AGILE 3+, a recently developed score based on the combination of aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio, platelet count, diabetes status, sex, age, and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography, when compared with Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) and LSM, for the diagnosis of advanced fibrosis and for the prediction of liver-related events (LREs) occurrence in patients with NAFLD. A total of 614 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD or clinical diagnosis of NAFLD-related compensated cirrhosis were enrolled. LREs were recorded during follow-up. FIB-4, LSM by transient elastography (FibroScan device), and AGILE 3+ were measured. The diagnostic performance of noninvasive criteria for advanced fibrosis and for the prediction of LREs was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and decision curve analysis. In patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD (n = 520), LSM and AGILE 3+ had higher AUROC than FIB-4 (0.88 for LSM and AGILE 3+ vs 0.78 for FIB-4; P < .001) for advanced fibrosis, and AGILE 3+ exhibited a smaller indeterminate area in the test (25.2% for FIB-4 vs 13.1% for LSM vs 8.3% for AGILE 3+). Within the entire cohort of patients, AGILE 3+ had significantly higher AUROC for predicting LREs with respect to LSM (AUROC 36 months 0.95 vs 0.93; P =.008; 60 months 0.95 vs 0.92; P = .006; 96 months 0.97 vs 0.95; P = .001). Decision curve analysis showed that all scores had modest net benefit for ruling-out advanced fibrosis at the risk threshold of 5% to 10% where advanced fibrosis was absent. At the risk threshold of 5% of false negatives or false positives in LRE at 36, 60, 96, and 120 months, AGILE 3+ outperformed both FIB-4 and LSM for ruling out LRE. Depending on resource availability, clinical setting, and the risk scenarios, AGILE 3+ is an accurate and valid alternative to FIB-4 and LSM for the noninvasive assessment of disease severity and prognosis in patients with NAFLD.

Pennisi G ，Enea M ，Pandolfo A ，Celsa C ，Antonucci M ，Ciccioli C ，Infantino G ，La Mantia C ，Parisi S ，Tulone A ，Di Marco V ，Craxì A ，Cammà C ，Petta S ... -  《-》

Enhanced diagnosis of advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis in individuals with NAFLD using FibroScan-based Agile scores.

Currently available non-invasive tests, including fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM by VCTE), are highly effective at excluding advanced fibrosis (AF) (F ≥3) or cirrhosis in people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), but only have moderate ability to rule-in these conditions. Our objective was to develop and validate two new scores (Agile 4 and Agile 3+) to identify cirrhosis or AF, respectively, with optimized positive predictive value and fewer indeterminate results, in individuals with NAFLD attending liver clinics. This international study included seven adult cohorts with suspected NAFLD who underwent liver biopsy, LSM and blood sampling during routine clinical practice or screening for trials. The population was randomly divided into a training set and an internal validation set, on which the best-fitting logistic regression model was built, and performance and goodness of fit were assessed, respectively. Furthermore, both scores were externally validated on two large cohorts. Cut-offs for high sensitivity and specificity were derived in the training set to rule-out and rule-in cirrhosis or AF and then tested in the validation set and compared to FIB-4 and LSM. Each score combined LSM, AST/ALT ratio, platelets, sex and diabetes status, as well as age for Agile 3+. Calibration plots for Agile 4 and Agile 3+ indicated satisfactory to excellent goodness of fit. Agile 4 and Agile 3+ outperformed FIB-4 and LSM in terms of AUROC, percentage of patients with indeterminate results and positive predictive value to rule-in cirrhosis or AF. The two novel non-invasive scores improve identification of cirrhosis or AF among individuals with NAFLD attending liver clinics and reduce the need for liver biopsy in this population. Non-invasive tests currently used to identify patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, such as fibrosis-4 index and liver stiffness measurement by vibration-controlled transient elastography, have high negative predictive values but high false positive rates, while results are indeterminate for a large number of cases. This study provides scores that will help the clinician diagnose advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. These new easy-to-implement scores will help liver specialists to better identify (1) patients who need more intensive follow-up, (2) patients who should be referred for inclusion in therapeutic trials, and (3) which patients should be treated with pharmacological agents when effective therapies are approved.

Sanyal AJ ，Foucquier J ，Younossi ZM ，Harrison SA ，Newsome PN ，Chan WK ，Yilmaz Y ，De Ledinghen V ，Costentin C ，Zheng MH ，Wai-Sun Wong V ，Elkhashab M ，Huss RS ，Myers RP ，Roux M ，Labourdette A ，Destro M ，Fournier-Poizat C ，Miette V ，Sandrin L ，Boursier J ... -  《-》

Agile scores in MASLD and ALD: External validation and their utility in clinical algorithms.

Papatheodoridi M ，De Ledinghen V ，Lupsor-Platon M ，Bronte F ，Boursier J ，Elshaarawy O ，Marra F ，Thiele M ，Markakis G ，Payance A ，Brodkin E ，Castera L ，Papatheodoridis G ，Krag A ，Arena U ，Mueller S ，Cales P ，Calvaruso V ，Delamarre A ，Pinzani M ，Tsochatzis EA ... -  《-》