S4-E13.2 - Linking NAFLD and NASH to Cancer and Educating on Fatty Liver Screening

Send us Fan MailSurfing NASH returns to preview the second Innovations in NAFLD Care Workshop (INCBCN) to be held in Barcelona from 26-27 May, 2023. Conference founders and directors Jeff Lazarus and Jörn Schattenberg discuss what makes the event unique with Louise Campbell and Roger Green.Jörn begins this conversation by noting the diverse, cross-disciplinary involvement of the event. He also shares details of an abstract he will be presenting on liver stiffness. Roger then returns to the idea of linking Fatty Liver and cancers. He recalls last week’s episode when Hannah Mamuszka noted the alarming degree to which all obesogenic cancers are related to Fatty Liver disease. Jeff notes the roundness of Day 1, citing the benefit of hosting a holistic discussion which features viewpoints on alcohol, diabetes and cancer. Jörn adds that by looking at the liver, we are empowering the patients and educating on their individual risk, ultimately informing in terms of cancer prevention. At this point, Louise expands on the importance of early screening in populations who are unaware of their liver health and the need to drive education for those at risk to know when and what to ask their providers. She notes the nonlinear progression to liver cancer, a recently recurring theme on the podcast. She then goes on to commend the convergence of fields, citing the various associations’ (including the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association) growing inclusion of Fatty Liver in recommendations around risk assessment.Roger connects the idea that endocrinologists are working in terms of cancer prevention. He reasons that if 70% of their patients have NAFLD, and if NAFLD elevates the risk of HCC, then “every time you treat a diabetic patient, you need to think about what you're doing in the context of avoiding cancer.” As the conversation winds down, Jörn mentions a pre-event on the opening morning called the NASH NITs Real World Evidence Summit, which lends to a more hands-on training around which biomarkers to use and implementation. Here, he explains, the experience aims to familiarize those who don't work with these tests everyday to gain the skills and confidence to effectively screen for Fatty Liver diseases.If you enjoy the episode, have questions or interest around its contents and Fatty Liver disease, we kindly ask that you submit reviews wherever you download our discussions. Alternatively, you can write to us directly at [email protected] Safe and Surf On!