Improvements of Fibrosis and Disease Activity Are Associated With Improvement of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients With Advanced Fibrosis Due to Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are important endpoints for clinical trials. The impact of investigational drugs on PROs of patients with advanced nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was investigated. Patients with NASH with bridging fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis were enrolled in a phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled study of selonsertib, firsocostat, or cilofexor, alone or in two-drug combinations (NCT03449446). PROs included Short Form 36 (SF-36), Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ)-NASH, EuroQol Five Dimension (EQ-5D), Work Productivity and Impairment (WPAI), and 5-D Itch before and during treatment. A total of 392 patients with NASH (mean ± SD, 60 ± 9 years old; 35% men; 89% white; 72% diabetes; and 56% compensated cirrhosis) were included. Baseline Physical Functioning (PF) and Bodily Pain of SF-36 and Fatigue and Worry of CLDQ-NASH were significantly lower in patients with cirrhosis (total CLDQ-NASH score mean ± SD, 4.91 ± 1.06 with cirrhosis vs. 5.16 ± 1.14 without cirrhosis; P < 0.05). Lower baseline PRO scores were independently associated with age, female sex, greater body mass index, diabetes, clinically overt fatigue, and comorbidities (all P < 0.05). After 48 weeks of treatment, patients with ≥1-stage fibrosis improvement without worsening of NASH experienced improvement in EQ-5D and five out of six CLDQ-NASH domains (P < 0.05). Patients with ≥2-point decrease in their nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) also had improvements in PF and Role Physical scores and all domains of CLDQ-NASH (P < 0.05). Progression to cirrhosis was associated with a decrease in PF scores of SF-36 (P ≤ 0.05). Fibrosis regression was independently associated with greater improvements in PF and EQ-5D scores, while NAS improvement was associated with improvement in fatigue and pruritus (all P < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with advanced NASH experienced improvement in their PROs after fibrosis regression or improvement in disease activity.