Liver iron overload and fat content analyzed <br />by magnetic resonance contribute to evaluating<br />the progression of chronic hepatitis B

Luo,Jinni; Liu,Zhenzhen; Wang,Qian; Tan,Siwei

doi:10.3892/br.2023.1711

Liver iron overload and fat content analyzed
by magnetic resonance contribute to evaluating
the progression of chronic hepatitis B

Authors:
- Jinni Luo
- Zhenzhen Liu
- Qian Wang
- Siwei Tan
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Affiliations: Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, P.R. China, Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, P.R. China
Published online on: December 19, 2023 https://doi.org/10.3892/br.2023.1711
Article Number: 23
Copyright: © Luo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and its complications still have a major role in liver‑related mortality. It has been indicated that hepatic iron and steatosis may influence liver fibrosis and carcinogenesis. The present study aimed to assess the liver iron and fat in patients with CHB by MRI in order to estimate the associations among liver iron, fat and the severity and progression of liver fibrosis. In the present retrospective study, consecutive patients with CHB examined from August 2018 to August 2020 were analyzed. Liver iron and fat content were assessed by MRI, which was measured as liver iron content (LIC) and proton density fat fraction (PDFF). A total of 340 patients were included in the current study. For LIC, the median value was 1.68 mg/g and elevated LIC was seen in 122 patients (35.9%). For liver fat content, the median value of PDFF was 3.1%, while only 15.0% of patients had liver steatosis (PDFF ≥5%). Age, total bilirubin and sex were independent predictive factors of liver iron overload [odds ratio (OR)=1.036, 1.005 and 8.834, respectively]. A higher platelet count (OR=1.005) and no portal hypertension (OR=0.381) independently predicted liver steatosis. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of PDFF for the identification of liver cirrhosis estimated by different non‑invasive tools ranged from 0.629 to 0.704. It was concluded that iron overload was common in patients with CHB, particularly in those with older age, male sex and high total bilirubin level, and liver steatosis was less common in CHB. Liver iron and fat content analyzed by MRI may contribute to the evaluation of the severity and progression of CHB.

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