Published On: 12/3/2024

Target RWE Highlights GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease at The Liver Meeting 2024

DURHAM, N.C., Dec. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Target RWE, a leader in real-world evidence solutions in liver disease, presented important research on the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) among patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) at The Liver Meeting, November 15-19 in San Diego, CA. Leveraging data from Target RWE's metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patient cohort, the study highlights the potential of GLP-1 RAs to slow disease progression and reduce mortality among patients with MASLD.

The study, titled "Use of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in Patients with MASLD in a Real-World Setting Is Associated with Slower Disease Progression and Lower All-Cause Mortality", addresses a critical gap in understanding the real-world impact of GLP-1 RAs on patient outcomes among patients with MASLD. Patient characteristics and disease progression in a subset of patients with MASLD were analyzed, providing valuable real-world insights on how GLP-1 RA therapies – primarily prescribed for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in this setting – may influence liver disease outcomes.

Key Findings:

• Among a cohort of 4,219 participants with MASLD, the analysis assessed 375 GLP-1 RA users who were more likely to be female and have a history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension.
  
  
• The adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) showed that non-users of GLP-1 RAs had over twice the risk of all-cause mortality (HR=2.3) and a 1.7 times greater hazard of progression to decompensated cirrhosis (HR=1.7) than GLP-1 RA users.
  
  
• Patients with diabetes, hypertension, older age, and non-white race had greater hazard risk.

"These findings reveal that GLP-1 RA use in patients with MASLD may offer a dual benefit for slowing disease progression and reducing mortality," said first author A. Sidney Barritt IV, MD, MSCR, Professor of Medicine, Director of Hepatology, and Transplant Hepatology Program Director in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill. "With the recent expansion of GLP-1 RAs as an approved therapy for obesity, further investigation is warranted to assess its long-term safety and efficacy in MASLD populations."

The Target RWE study underscores the potential of GLP-1 RAs as a meaningful intervention for MASLD, particularly as the interplay between metabolic diseases and liver disease rises.

Target RWE's MASLD and MASH patient cohorts have expanded with the broad TARGET-LIVER DISEASE (TARGET-LD) observational real-world study protocol that collects complete patient data from health systems in the U.S. to identify variations in treatment approaches, outcomes, and patient-reported outcome measures in subpopulations of patients with chronic liver disease. Examples of subpopulations include but are not limited to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), cirrhosis, ALPHA 1, alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and Wilson's disease.

For more information, please visit our website: https://targetrwe.com/.