Publication Name	World Journal of Hepatology
Manuscript ID	115836
Country	Egypt

Category	Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Manuscript Type	Letter to the Editor
Article Title	Evaluating cytokeratin 18 fragment as a non-invasive marker of fibrosis and lipid alterations in steatotic liver disease
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Noura AA Ebrahim, Soliman MA Soliman, Thoraya A Farghaly and Aya Mohamed Adel Arafat
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Noura AA Ebrahim, Department of Oncologic Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, 1st Kasr-Alainy Street, Cairo 11796, Al Qāhirah, Egypt. npathologist@gmail.com
Key Words	Cytokeratin 18 fragment; Steatotic liver disease; Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; Hepatocyte apoptosis; FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase score; Steatosis-Associated Fibrosis Estimator score; Non-invasive biomarkers; Lipid metabolism; Liver injury; Metabolic dysfunction
Core Tip	Ichikawa et al examined the diagnostic utility of serum cytokeratin 18 fragment (CK18F) in patients with steatotic liver disease (SLD). Their findings demonstrated that CK18F-a marker of hepatocyte apoptosis-shows a strong relationship with liver injury markers and lipid disturbances, particularly elevated triglycerides, but not with conventional fibrosis indices. Notably, CK18F correlated closely with non-invasive composite scores such as FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase and Steatosis-Associated Fibrosis Estimator, emphasizing its ability to reflect active hepatic inflammation and metabolic stress rather than fibrotic burden. These results suggest that incorporating CK18F into existing non-invasive assessment tools could enhance early detection and clinical stratification of individuals at metabolic and hepatic risk within the spectrum of metabolic dysfunction-associated SLD.
Citation	Ebrahim NAA, Soliman SMA, Farghaly TA, Arafat AMA. Evaluating cytokeratin 18 fragment as a non-invasive marker of fibrosis and lipid alterations in steatotic liver disease. World J Hepatol 2026; In press

Received	2025-10-27 07:35
Peer-Review Started	2025-10-27 07:35
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2025-10-31 09:07
Return for Revision	2025-10-31 09:07
Revised	2025-11-14 09:19
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-01-21 02:38
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-01-21 07:28
Articles in Press	2026-01-21 07:28
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	1948-5182 (online)
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