A 40-year-old male with MASH is being monitored after initiating a new treatment regimen for his condition. What biomarker would be most useful to evaluate the immediate effectiveness of his treatment?
A
Hemoglobin A1c is useful for monitoring diabetes control, not directly liver treatment efficacy.
B
Serum albumin is a marker of liver synthetic function but changes more slowly and is less sensitive to immediate treatment effects.
C
Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is a liver enzyme that can indicate changes in liver function and is useful for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment for liver conditions like MASH. Studies have shown that weight loss and improved insulin resistance are reliable predictors of GGT normalization.
D
CRP is an inflammation marker and while useful, is not specific to liver health.
E
AFP is used primarily to screen for liver cancer, not for monitoring treatment response in MASH.
