MAFLD/MASLD: Past, Present, and Future

ABSTRACT

Metabolic dysfunction‐associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic dysfunction‐associated fatty liver disease, affects more than 30% of the global adult population and has become one of the leading causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. From what we are seeing today, it is hard to imagine that only 25 years ago the disease was considered unimportant, liver biopsy was the only means of assessing disease severity, and no pharmaceutical company was developing treatments for steatohepatitis (MASH). In this Okuda State‐of‐the‐Art Lecture, I discuss the evolution of our understanding of MASLD over the past 25 years and highlight the development of noninvasive biomarkers and clinical care pathways. The accelerated approvals of resmetirom and semaglutide in 2024 and 2025, respectively, mark a new era of MASH treatments. I also highlight challenges in MASLD research and speculate on the role of omics and artificial intelligence in our future practice. Finally, I emphasize that the progress today is the result of concerted efforts and years of collaborative work. As long as we work together and embrace change, progress will occur, enabling us to better serve our patients and society.