Table 1.

Major advantages and limitations of liver biopsy and noninvasive fibrosis markers

	Liver biopsy	Noninvasive markers
Advantages
	Validated scoring systems	Absence of significant discomfort and risks
	Differential diagnosis and associated conditions	Allows frequent re-evaluation
	Simultaneous evaluation of necro-inflammation	Objective interpretation
		Patient acceptance
Limitations
	Invasive	Low accuracy to discriminate between intermediate stages of fibrosis
	High cost	Nonspecific for the liver (biomarkers)
	Sampling errors and intra- and inter-observer variability	Influence of several extra-hepatic factors