Molecular prognosis in liver cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is the terminal stage of chronic inflammatory and fibrotic liver diseases caused by viral hepatitis and metabolic disorders. Natural history of cirrhosis varies across the patients, therefore prognostic prediction in each individual is crucial for cost-effective patient management. Several clinical prognostic indicators have been developed, although their performance is generally limited. Molecular prognostic biomarkers are expected to refine the prognostication to enable personalized clinical care according to estimated risk of poor prognosis. Some of the biomarkers may also serve as clue to chemopreventive intervention. Non-invasive technologies based on body fluid-derived biospecimens will enable more flexible application of such biomarkers compared to liver biopsy-based methods. However, given the limitations in sensitivity and specificity of the currently available circulating biomolecule-based assays, acquisition of liver tissues will be necessary at least during the process of developing such biomarkers.