Reasons a Liver Biopsy Is Performed

• Liver biopsy: Diagnostic purposes
  
  
  • Alcoholic liver disease
    
    
  • Elevated liver enzymes of unknown cause
    
    
  • Biliary tract obstruction/jaundice
    
    
  • Fatty liver disease
    
    
  • Hemochromatosis
    
    
  • Wilson disease
    
    
  • Autoimmune liver disease
    
    
  • Alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency
    
    
  • Possibleinjury due to drug therapies
    
    
  • Hepatitis B
    
    
  • Hepatitis C
    
    
  • Hepatomegaly (liver enlargement) of undetermined cause
    
    
  • Cancers that originate in the liver
    
    
  • Cancers that spread (metastasize) to the liver from other sites
    
    
  • Noncancerous tumors or abnormalities in the liver

• Liver biopsy: Monitoring therapy
  
  
  • Chronicviral hepatitis
    
    
  • HIV/AIDS
    
    
  • Liver transplantation (to rule out rejection or infection)