Exploration of Multiple Non-Invasive Tests for Assessing Response to Treatment in a Semaglutide Phase 2b Trial in Patients with MASH

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Semaglutide in this randomized controlled trial publication.

This retrospective study explored a panel of NITs for assessing response to semaglutide treatment in patients with MASH randomised in a phase 2b trial (NCT02970942).

Why It Was Studied

Non-invasive tests (NITs) are not currently approved as biomarkers of treatment response for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Who Took Part

The study group was 268 patients.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

The present study was performed using the completer population (268 patients), defined as all patients who were randomised, remained on treatment throughout the trial, and had liver biopsy and NIT results at baseline and week 72.

Semaglutide treatment arms were analysed as one semaglutide pooled group.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Semaglutide and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Multiple NITs (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase [AST], controlled attenuation parameter, CK18-M30/M65, SomaSignal nonalcoholic steatohepatitis tests, FibroScan-AST, NIS-4, metabolomics advanced steatohepatitis fibrosis score, fibrosis-4 index, liver stiffness measure [LSM], enhanced liver fibrosis [ELF], PRO-C3 and ADAPT) were assessed.

Treatment response was evaluated by NITs using either mean changes, responder groups, or risk categories from baseline to week 72.

What Was Measured

Non-invasive tests (NITs) are not currently approved as biomarkers of treatment response for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

PubMed files the paper under topics including Glucagon-Like Peptides, Biomarkers, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Fatty Liver and Hypoglycemic Agents.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Semaglutide in 268 patients.

Its findings take up roughly 4 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2026 (Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics), a journal based in England.

More context: the Semaglutide compound page, all human trials.