People diagnosed with significant fibrosis or scarring of the liver are referred directly to liver cancer surveillance pathways, which aims to detect the commonest form of primary liver cancer (hepatocellular cancer) at a curable or treatable stage.
What is a Fibroscan?
Fibroscan is a specialised type of scan used to assess the liver. It measures two different things:
- How much fibrosis (scarring) there is in the liver
- How much fat is in the liver
It can be used alone or with other tests (such as blood tests, other scans, or biopsies) to assess how much fat and scarring is in the liver. It is a simple, quick and painless test that uses high frequency sound waves. The scan gives immediate results. It is non-invasive, which means that it does not break the skin or enter your body.
What are the benefits of this scan?
Having a fibroscan will help your doctor to understand how much fat and scarring is in the liver. This will help to plan follow up and any treatment that may be needed. Early identification of liver problems can help us act to reduce the risk of them getting worse and prevent more serious problems in the future.
What causes fatty change and scarring?
There are many causes of scarring or fat in the liver. The most common causes of these are:
- Drinking too much alcohol over many years
- Metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), which is associated with being overweight, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. This can cause liver disease even if you don’t drink alcohol
- Being infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C
What happens after the scan?
A liver doctor will look at the results of the scan. If there is any suggestion of scarring then all previous blood tests and other results will be reviewed by a liver specialist to determine if an appointment (usually telephone) is required with the hospital team.
If there is no evidence of scarring in the liver, then a further appointment with the liver team will not be needed.
A normal scan is good news; however, people can still be at risk of going on to develop liver problems in the future if they do not look after their liver.
