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This conversation explores why proper use of non-invasive tests (NITs) will play a pivotal role in increasing the number of patients diagnosed and treated for MASH. It becomes particularly pivotal if, as expected, the first MASH drug is approved later this month.

Roger Green starts this conversation by describing why he considers NIT use and adoption one of the two pivotal patient treatment issues for 2024. Jörn Schattenberg notes that he has not received any referrals from PCPs or endocrinology based on elevated FIB-4, which would happen if enough front-line treaters were adopting the new clinical care pathways. Educational efforts have begun, but do not seem to be changing behavior yet. As Jörn puts it, "We're still preaching, and I haven't seen it in much activity."

Naim Alkhouri states that his experience is the same as Jörn's. He reminds us that we covered some of these issues in a 2023 end-of-year conversation (S4 E50.3). He reiterates his concern with FIB-4 as a standalone first-line test and states his preference for combining it with an in-office scan. He comments that at the recent Desert Liver Conference, four companies displayed these devices, each with a different price point and convenience factor. 

Ian Rowe describes the British experience as being different: "every patient with elevated ALT in the context of metabolic risk factors has a FIB-4 and now has a FibroScan." His biggest concern is that tests are insufficiently precise. If we have top-end and bottom-end cutoffs, he fears, "you're going to end up excluding a lot of patients who would be potentially eligible for treatment."