Volumetric analysis of liver fibrosis.

Abstract

Liver fibrosis is accumulation of extracellular matrix in the liver tissue. It occurs in response to acute or chronic liver injury. There are a large range of causes for liver fibrosis, which include viral infection, autoimmune, drug-induced, cholestatic and metabolic diseases. Liver fibrosis ultimately leads to cirrhosis, the end-stage consequence of fibrosis within hepatic parenchyma. Cirrhosis is often characterized by presence of hepatic nodule, a hexagonal formation of extracellular matrix that encircles and isolates a portion of hepatic parenchyma. Hepatic nodule hinders blood flow within liver which detriment the normal functionality of the organ. Failure of the whole liver can occur if fibrosis becomes too extensive and by then there is no viable treatment available, except for liver transplant [1].

Liver fibrosis is a serious disease which affects hundreds of millions of patients worldwide. In the United States, cirrhosis is the most common non-neoplastic cause of death among hepatobiliary and digestive diseases which accounts for approximately 30 000 deaths per year. Furthermore, cirrhosis is one of the major causes of liver cancer which its mortality rate is raising steadily over the recent years [2].