Korean researchers find abdominal ultrasound can predict liver cancer risk

A research team led by Professors Lee Jae-jun of Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital and Lee Soon-kyu of Incheon St. Mary's Hospital has demonstrated that Shear Wave Elastography (SWE), performed during routine abdominal ultrasounds, can effectively predict the risk of liver cancer and serious complications in patients with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD).

The study, published in the journal ‘Hepatology’, analyzed 2,817 patients over a total follow-up period of 6,004 person-years. The researchers compared the predictive performance of SWE against the conventional Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography (VCTE), which requires specialized equipment like FibroScan.

The results showed no significant difference in long-term predictive accuracy between the two methods. Under American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) standards, the AUC for SWE was 0.770 compared to 0.775 for VCTE. Under European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) standards, the values were 0.804 for SWE and 0.805 for VCTE. This suggests that SWE can be used alongside the FIB-4 index to identify high-risk patients without the need for additional, specialized diagnostic equipment.