Hepatology: Emerging Paradigms in MASLD, Viral Hepatitis, Cholestatic Liver Disease, Portal Hypertension and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Summary of the First Annual Paris International Liver Meeting 2026.
Zobair M Younossi, George Papatheodoridis, Emmanuel Tsochatzis, Maria Buti, Lorenza Rimassa, Massimo Pinzani, Ana Lleo, Debbie Shawcross, Frank Tacke, Vincent Wai-Sun Wong, Shira Zelber-Sagi, Andreas E Kremer, David J Pinato, Josep M Llovet, Paolo Angeli, Tarik Asselah, Nicola Pugliese, Cyrielle Caussy, Annalisa Berzigotti, Pietro Lampertico, Markus Cornberg, Mads Israelsen, Pere Gines, Sabela Lens, Hannes Hagström, Michael Trauner, Paul Brennan, Jérôme Boursier, Maurizia Brunetto, Mark Thursz, Elisabetta Bugianesi, Claire Carette, Elisabetta Degasperi, François Durand, Jean-François Dufour, Sven Francque, Claire Francoz, Jean-François Gautier, Helena Hernandez-Evole, David Jones, Maurice Michel, Christophe Moreno, Thomas Mouillot, Lucia Parlati, Jean-Michel Pawlotsky, Pierre-Emmanuel Rautou, Thomas Reiberger, Olivier Roux, Michael Betel, Dominique Thabut, Mazen Noureddin, Valérie Vilgrain, Elise Vuille-Lessard, Yusuf Yilmaz, Adrian Gadano, Vlad Ratziu, Jörn M Schattenberg, Ramon Bataller, Lawrence Serfaty, Maja Thiele, Alessio Aghemo, Laurent Castera
Journal: Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver
2026;46(9):e70806
PMID: 42613687
Abstract
The Paris International Liver Meeting (January 19-21, 2026) brought together leading hepatology experts to discuss transformative advances in chronic liver disease management. The meeting highlighted pivotal developments reflecting the field's evolution from disease characterisation toward precision, mechanism-based therapeutics. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and its progressive form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), were highlighted, marking the transition to an era of approved disease-modifying therapies. Resmetirom and semaglutide are now approved for MASH with F2-F3 fibrosis, with a robust pipeline generating anti-fibrotic signals through FGF21 analogs, pan-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists, and incretin-based dual and triple agonists. Non-invasive tests have evolved beyond their original diagnostic role to enable prognostic stratification, screening of at-risk populations, treatment selection, and monitoring of therapeutic response. This evolution is not limited to MASLD, but extends to other chronic liver diseases, including primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and portal hypertension, as highlighted by the recommendations of the Baveno Consensus Workshops. Hepatitis B and D are moving toward functional cure strategies, with simplified HBV treatment algorithms based on fibrosis and viral load, supported by biomarkers for risk stratification and safe treatment discontinuation. In parallel, HDV management is transitioning from a severe disease to one with emerging suppressive and potential curative l through bulevirtide and novel HBsAg-targeting and RNA-silencing therapies, respectively. Management of PBC has advanced with novel PPAR agonists that improve cholestatic biochemistry and pruritus, supported by individualised risk stratification. However, significant treatment gaps persist, with fewer than half of eligible PBC patients receiving second-line therapy, and fatigue remains a major unmet clinical need. Furthermore, effective pharmacotherapies for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) remain a major challenge, and no approved disease-modifying treatments are currently available. Finally, for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), immunotherapy combinations can achieve unprecedented long-term survival in selected populations of patients. Collectively, these advances define a new era of hepatology centered on precision medicine, earlier intervention, and mechanism-driven therapeutic strategies.
© 2026 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Address:
Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Global Center for Liver Outcomes & Policy Research, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; 1st Department of Gastroenterology, Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, General Hospital of Athens 'Laiko', Athens, Greece.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; University College of London, UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK.; Hepatology-Internal Medicine, Vall D'hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy.; Hepatopancreatobiliary Oncology Unit, Humanitas Cancer Center, IRCCS, Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy.; University College of London, UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK.; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy.; Division of Internal Medicine and Hepatology, Department of Gastroenterology, IRCCS, Humanitas Research Hospital, Milan, Italy.; The Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Department of Hepatology & Gastroenterology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum and Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Medical Data Analytics Center, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Swiss HPB Center, University Hospital Zürich, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.; Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, Faculty of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.; Department of Translational Medicine (DIMET), Università del Piemonte Orientale "A. Avogadro", Novara, Italy.; Mount Sinai Liver Cancer Programme, Division of Liver Diseases, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.; Liver Cancer Translational Research Group, Liver Unit, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clínic, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.; Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.; Chief of Internal and Hepatology Department of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Université de Paris-Cité, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, INSERM UMR1149, Paris, France.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Département Endocrinology, Diabete and Nutrition, Hôpital Lyon Sud, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Pierre-Bénite, France.; Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.; Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Centre for Liver Research, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.; Liver Unit, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Institut D'investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain.; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.; School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Liver Unit Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERehd, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.; Unit of Hepatology, Department of Upper GI Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; University of Dundee, School of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; HIFIH Laboratory, SFR ICAT 4208, Angers University, Angers, France.; Hepato-Gastroenterology and Digestive Oncology Department, Angers University Hospital, Angers, France.; Hepatology Unit and Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Pathology of Hepatitis Viruses, Reference Center of the Tuscany Region for Chronic Liver Disease and Cancer, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.; Department of Metabolism, Digestion & Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, UK.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.; APHP Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.; Hepatology & Liver Intensive Care, Hospital Beaujon, Clichy, France.; Centre for Digestive Diseases, Lausanne, Switzerland.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Department of Gastroenterology Hepatology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.; Liver Intensive Care and Liver Transplantation, Beaujon Hospital, Clichy, France.; Centre Universitaire du Diabète et de Ses Complications, Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France.; Liver Unit, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; IDIBAPS, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK.; Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.; Department of Internal Medicine II, University Medical Center Saarland, Homburg, Germany.; Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatopancreatology and Digestive Oncology, CUB Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.; Université Bourgogne Europe, CHU Dijon Bourgogne, Nutrition Support Team, INSERM CTM 1231, Dijon, France.; Department of Hepatology, Cochin Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.; Department of Virology, Hôpital Henri Mondor (AP-HP), INSERM U955, Université Paris-Est, Créteil, France.; AP-HP, Hôpital Beaujon, Service D'hépatologie, DMU DIGEST, Centre de Référence Des Maladies Vasculaires du Foie, FILFOIE, ERN RARE-LIVER, Clichy, France.; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.; Service D'hepatologie, Hôpital Beaujon, APHP Nord, Clichy, France.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Fatty Liver Alliance, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.; APHP Sorbonne Université Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière Hepatogastroenterology Unit, Paris, France.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston Research Institute, Houston, Texas, USA.; Department of Radiology, HOPE: 1-Day Care Center for Liver Tumours, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.; Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Rize, Türkiye.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.; Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Pitié Salpêtrière, Sorbonne University, Institute of Cardiometabolism and Nutrition (ICAN), Paris, France.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg, Germany.; School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Chief of the Metabolic Liver Diseases Unit, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Center for Liver Research, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.; Global NASH/MASH Council, Washington, DC, USA.; Department of Hepatology, Hôpital Beaujon, AP-HP, INSERM UMR 1149, Centre de Recherche Sur L'inflammation Paris Montmartre, Université Paris-Cité, Clichy, France.
MeSH Terms:
Humans,
Hypertension, Portal,
Liver Neoplasms,
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular,
Hepatitis, Viral, Human,
Gastroenterology,
Fatty Liver,
Cholestasis
