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Screening for liver fibrosis - population-based study across European countries

Project description

Liver cirrhosis prevention

Liver cirrhosis is late-stage liver fibrosis (scarring) caused by liver diseases or conditions such as hepatitis B or C virus infection, obesity, type-2 diabetes mellitus or chronic alcoholism. There is no treatment to reverse advanced liver cirrhosis; it is always preceded by slowly developing, asymptomatic, liver fibrosis. Early diagnosis of liver fibrosis is crucial for the estimated 10 million Europeans with the undetected disease. The EU-funded LiverScreen project aims to develop a novel screening approach to identify asymptomatic liver fibrosis and cirrhosis among the general population. Researchers will identify groups at high risk of chronic liver disease and screen their liver stiffness with the innovative transient elastography technology. The 8 collaborating European countries will use 34 000 subjects to develop the screening and demonstrate its accuracy, clinical value, cost-effectiveness, acceptability and implementation potential.

Objective

Liver cirrhosis is a very common and severe chronic disease, responsible for high morbidity, impaired quality of life, major healthcare costs, and poor survival, causing an estimated 170,000 deaths per year in Europe. Liver cirrhosis is preceded by a long period of slowly developing, asymptomatic, liver fibrosis; most commonly caused by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD, related to obesity and type 2 diabetes), alcohol, and hepatitis B or C virus infection. There is no treatment available to reverse advanced liver cirrhosis. However, if fibrosis could be detected early, all of the major causes are still amenable to prevention and treatment. Early diagnosis of liver fibrosis in the general population is therefore crucial for the estimated 10 million Europeans with undetected liver fibrosis.

The LiverScreen project aims to develop a targeted screening methodology to identify persons with asymptomatic liver fibrosis and cirrhosis among the general population. This methodology involves: 1) identification of groups from the general population at high risk of having chronic liver disease, 2) screening their liver stiffness with the innovative transient elastography (TE) technology (until now only validated in patients with known liver disease) for diagnosis, and 3) determining the right follow-up screening regime. Within the LiverScreen project 8 European countries will collaborate and perform research in over 34,000 subjects to develop the screening methodology and demonstrate its accuracy, clinical value, cost-effectiveness, acceptability, and potential to be implemented by healthcare systems throughout Europe.

Using the LiverScreen program, diagnosis at an early stage can stop liver disease progression and have a subsequent long-term impact on liver disease morbidity and mortality and the associated societal burdens in terms of economic costs and health inequity. The estimated cost reduction ranges from €850 to €4,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained.

Call for proposal

H2020-SC1-BHC-2018-2020

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-SC1-2019-Two-Stage-RTD

Coordinator

FUNDACIO DE RECERCA CLINIC BARCELONA-INSTITUT D INVESTIGACIONS BIOMEDIQUES AUGUST PI I SUNYER
Net EU contribution
€ 1 243 237,79
Address
CARRER ROSSELLO 149
08036 Barcelona
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 1 563 181,54

Participants (23)