Advances in Treatment of Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC)

Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH, provides an overview of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and its recent increase in prevalence, as well as common signs and symptoms.

Edward Mena, MD, reviews the classification and diagnosis of PBC considering the change from the term “cirrhosis” to “cholangitis.”

David Victor III, MD, comments on the risk factors for PBC and the importance of educating the patient about the disease.

Experts in hepatology discuss disease progression of PBC and the long-term complications patients may experience.

Steven Flamm, MD, FAASLD, FACG, reviews the disease burden of primary biliary cholangitis on the patient and their family. He also comments on the impact PBC has on a patient’s mental health.

Experts in hepatology share their approach to diagnosing primary biliary cholangitis and discuss the use of liver biopsies in diagnosis.

Kris Kowdley, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF, FAASLD, reviews the changes in the screening and diagnosis of primary biliary cholangitis in the recently published CDLF guidelines, as well as when a primary care physician should refer a patient to a specialist to assess disease presence.

A panel of experts reviews the tools available to risk stratify patients with PBC, highlighting the GLOBE score and liver elastography.

Drs Kris Kowdley, Steven Flamm, Sonal Kumar, Edward Mena, and David Victor discuss their approach to initiating treatment of PBC as well as managing this chronic condition.

Experts reviews the current treatment landscape for management of PBC, highlighting ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and obeticholic acid (OCA), as well as liver transplant.

Steven Flamm, MD, FAASLD, FACG, reviews the option of using OCA to manage PBC in patients who cannot tolerate UDCA.

Experts in hepatology discuss safety considerations for use of OCA in patients with cirrhosis and decompensated cirrhosis.

Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH; and Edward Mena, MD, share their approach to managing pruritis brought on by OCA in patients with PBC.

Hepatology experts review the real-world studies of obeticholic acid for management of PBC, highlighting data that show obeticholic acid could improve clinical outcomes in PBC.

Experts in hepatology comment on how long they keep a patient with PBC on first-line treatment before deciding to switch to another therapy.

Hepatology experts discuss the use of triple therapy in the management of PBC as the wave of the future.

Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH, and David Victor III, MD, provide an overview of the emerging treatments in the primary biliary cholangitis landscape, highlighting PPAR agonists and combination OCA and bezafibrate.

Experts in hepatology review the unmet needs in primary biliary cholangitis, commenting on liver transplant, ethnic disparities, management of pruritis, as well as other symptoms.