Liver fibrosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: epidemiology, risk stratification and therapeutics

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) has become the most prevalent chronic liver disease worldwide and is tightly linked to cardiometabolic comorbidities. A major clinical focus on MASLD is the detection of hepatic fibrosis, which most strongly predicts liver-related events, hepatocellular carcinoma risk and mortality. While lifestyle modification and sustained weight loss remain foundational, therapeutic innovation has rapidly expanded, shifting the metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) treatment landscape towards targeted pharmacotherapies that address metabolic stress, inflammation and fibrogenesis, particularly for moderate/advanced fibrosis ( i.e. , F2/F3 fibrosis and cirrhosis). This review summarises the burden and systemic complications of MASLD, highlights endocrine influences that modulate hepatic steatosis and disease severity and emphasises the central role of fibrosis staging and non-invasive risk stratification in clinical decision-making. We then synthesise emerging pharmacotherapies across key mechanistic axes, including incretin-based agents (GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual/triple agonists), hepatocyte-directed metabolic modulators (thyroid hormone receptor-β agonists, fatty acid synthase inhibitors, acetyl-CoA carboxylase and other de novo lipogenesis inhibitors), bile acid pathway therapies (FXR agonists) and pleiotropic metabolic-fibrotic regulators (fibroblast growth factor 21 [FGF21] analogues and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor [PPAR] agonists). We also discuss combination strategies, candidate agents with potential direct antifibrotic activity and the growing role of genetic risk stratification and hepatocyte-targeted oligonucleotide therapeutics. Finally, we outline current surrogate endpoints used in clinical trials and propose future directions towards stage-specific, mechanism-informed and combination regimens to achieve persistent MASH resolution and meaningful fibrosis regression.