HBF scientists reported they may have discovered a reliable alternative to liver biopsy for the early detection of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, which afflict more than 5 million Americans, in the Journal of Virology (February 2008). Lead investigators Drs. Anand Mehta and Timothy Block discovered that the blood of most, if not all, people they tested with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, contains high levels of a special antibody that correlates very well with a diagnosis of increasing fibrosis and cirrhosis in their study.

According to Dr. David Thomas, chief of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, “This is a fascinating discovery and is important because, if confirmed, the test could help us replace liver biopsy as a method for staging liver disease. In addition, it may be teaching us something about how liver disease occurs.”

Working with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), HBF researchers have been able to test this approach in 300 blood samples from people with liver disease, and can conduct the new test in thousands. Although the test is still experimental and more research is needed before it can be used to monitor disease, the discovery is very promising and considered one of the NCI’s lead biomarkers.