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Digital Pathology and AI for Liver Outcomes in MASLD

Epidemiologic Liver Outcomes Retrospective Study to Confirm The Prognostic Value of the FibroNest Digital Pathology Fibrosis Biomarker (Ph-FCS) in Patients With MASLD (DPAILO-1)

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06344364
Acronym
DPAILO-1
Enrollment
1241
Registered
2024-04-03
Start date
2025-09-01
Completion date
2026-08-15
Last updated
2026-08-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatotic Liver Disease

Keywords

NAFLD, MAFLD, digital pathology, artificial intelligence, fibrosis score, liver disease, hepatic decompensation

Brief summary

The aim of this multi-center, retrospective epidemiologic study is to confirm the prognostic performance of the Digital Pathology (DP) FibroNest Phenotypic Fibrosis Composite Score (Ph-FCS), derived from standard digital pathology liver biopsy images, in predicting clinical hepatic decompensation events in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Detailed description

MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, presents histological liver changes resembling those caused by alcohol abuse, but in the absence of alcohol intake. Common among adults with conditions like obesity and type-2 diabetes, MASH, especially its severe form, is anticipated to become a leading cause of end-stage liver disease. Currently lacking approved treatments, MASH poses a significant burden on liver health and transplantation. Diagnosis and assessment rely on subjective histological review, prone to variability and limitations in detecting subtle changes. Consequently, there's an urgent need for accurate, continuous histological biomarkers. The FibroNest Ph-FCS offers a promising solution, utilizing high resolution digital pathology and sophisticated algorithmic methods for sensitive and reproducible fibrosis severity assessment and prediction of clinical events. In a 2003 proof of concept retrospective study on 400 patients, its prognostic performance was excellent. In this proposed multi-center retrospective study, we aim to confirm the Ph-FCS's prognostic value on a large cohort of 1,200 MASLD patients. We will also compare the prognostic performance of the Ph-FCS with the prognostic performance of the NASH-CR Fibrosis stages, and with non-invasive biomarkers like Fib-4 and elastography/Fibroscan, also collected retrospectively from the point of initial diagnosis. This study seeks to: (i) Confirm Ph-FCS's prognostic utility on a large scale. (ii) Compare biopsy-based Ph-FCS with NASH-CRN F Stages (iii) Compare biopsy-based Ph-FCS with non-invasive biomarkers.

Interventions

Biomarker name: FibroNest Phenotypic Fibrosis Composite Score Acronym: FibroNest Ph-FCS Type of Biomarker: Histologic based, Digital, Quantitative Image Analysis, Imaging modality Definition: A quantitative, normalized (no unit) and continuous composite score that aggregates quantitative histological features of fibrosis severity measured by high resolution quantitative image analysis.

Sponsors

PharmaNest, Inc
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY
Chinese University of Hong Kong
CollaboratorOTHER
University of Seville
CollaboratorOTHER
Fundacio Clinic Barcelona
CollaboratorOTHER
Sorbonne University
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
RETROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Adult pts ( \>=18 years old) with MASLD defined histologically. * Liver biopsy with fibrosis stains available for digitization or already digitized. * Clinical follow-up \>1 year available recording liver-related outcomes either through hospitalization ICD-10 codes or through clinical observation

Exclusion criteria

* Liver diseases other than MASLD Note: no exclusion based on bariatric surgery, significant weight loss or enrollment in NASH clinical studies, but data is collected for data analysis / competing effects (see data analysis plan)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Performance of Hepatic Decompensation Event predictive value of the FibroNest Ph-FCSTime-to-event analysis between 2 and 10 yearsArea under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) of the FibroNest Ph-FCS, as a prognostic/diagnostic biomarker for liver related events in patients with MASH.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Performance of Hepatic Decompensation Event predictive value of the NASH-CRN Fibrosis Stage, a biopsy-based score for fibrosis severityTime-to-event analysis between 2 and 10 yearsArea under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) of NASH-CRN F stage, as a biopsy-based prognostic/diagnostic biomarker for Hepatic Decompensation Events in patients with MASH.
Performance of Hepatic Decompensation Event predictive value of the FIB-4 biomarker, a non-invasive testTime-to-event analysis between 2 and 10 yearsArea under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) of FIB-4, as a prognostic/diagnostic biomarker for Hepatic Decompensation Events in patients with MASH.
Performance of Hepatic Decompensation Event predictive value of the elastography (Fibroscan) biomarker, a non-invasive testTime-to-event analysis between 2 and 10 yearsArea under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) of elastography, as a prognostic/diagnostic biomarker for Hepatic Decompensation Events in patients with MASH.
Performance of Hepatic Decompensation Event predictive value of the Collagen Area Ratio Digital Pathology biomarker (CAR%, as measured by FibroNest)Time-to-event analysis between 2 and 10 yearsArea under Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUROC) of CAR%, as a prognostic/diagnostic biomarker for Hepatic Decompensation Events in patients with MASH.

Countries

Hong Kong, Spain

Contacts

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORVlad Ratziu, MD, PhD

Sorbonne University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 25, 2026