Global research initiative for patient screening on MASH (GRIPonMASH) protocol: Rationale and design of a prospective multicentre study

Introduction The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) may be as high as 38% in the adult population with potential serious complications, multiple comorbidities and a high socioeconomic burden. However, there is a general lack of awareness and knowledge about MASLD and its progressive stages (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and fibrosis). Therefore, MASLD is still far underdiagnosed. The 'Global Research Initiative for Patient Screening on MASH' (GRIPonMASH) consortium focuses on this unmet public health need. GRIPonMASH will help (primary) healthcare providers to implement a patient care pathway, as recommended by multiple scientific societies, to identify patients at risk of severe MASLD and to raise awareness. Furthermore, GRIPonMASH will contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of MASLD and improved identification of diagnostic and prognostic markers to detect individuals at risk. Methods This is a prospective multicentre observational study in which 10 000 high-risk patients (type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, metabolic syndrome or hypertension) will be screened in 10 European countries using at least two non-invasive tests (Fibrosis-4 index and FibroScan). Blood samples and liver biopsy material will be collected and biobanked, and multiomics analyses will be conducted. Ethics and dissemination The study will be conducted in compliance with this protocol and applicable national and international regulatory requirements. The study initiation package is submitted at the local level. The study protocol has been approved by local medical ethical committees in all 10 participating countries. Results will be made public and published in scientific, peer-reviewed, international journals and at international conferences.