Liver Diseases: Diagnosis

Liver health and liver cancer remain a priority for the National Health Service. NHS England has established a liver transformation programme focussing on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, detection, and treatment of all forms of liver disease, such as cirrhosis, including patient pathways relating to metabolic associated steatotic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Non-alcoholic cirrhosis increases the risk of liver cancer, and to identify more liver cancers earlier, minimum standards for liver cancer surveillance have been rolled out nationally and Cancer Alliances continue to invest cancer service development funding in local liver cancer surveillance programmes. As set out in the National Cancer Plan, the community liver health checks programme will continue to offer fibroscans to people with cirrhosis and fatty liver disease, to proactively identify 4,000 patients each year at high-risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma.

The NHS Cancer Programme continues to reach out into the communities worst affected by liver disease through the Community Liver Health Checks programme, to proactively identify people suitable for liver cancer surveillance. Many of the patients identified by this route also receive lifestyle advice and support which aims to reduce future cancer risk.

NHS England is actively preparing to support the potential introduction of new treatments for MASH, including fatty liver disease with fibrosis, alongside the ongoing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence appraisal process.