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Onzi et al. Hepatoma Res 2019;5:7 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2018.114 Page 5 of 7

patients justifying that the large population of NAFL/NASH patients makes systematic surveillance
impracticable [4,12,35] .

CONCLUSION
With increasing cure rates for chronic liver disease related to HBV and HCV, NASH may become the leading
cause of HCC and liver transplantation in the coming decades. Recent evidence shows that a significant
proportion of patients with NAFL and NASH progresses to HCC even in the absence of cirrhosis or fibrosis.
However, new effective monitoring and screening measures should be established to address these high-risk
patients, thereby reducing the future impact of HCC in this population.

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Conception and design of the study, data analysis and interpretation: Onzi G, Moretti F, Soldera J
Data acquisition, provided administrative, technical, and material support: Onzi G, Moretti F, Soldera J,
Balbinot RA, Balbinot SS

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019.

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