Purpose: To assess the accuracy of MR elastography (MRE) in identifying early-stage liver fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Methods: Seventy patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD underwent MRE. Liver stiffness measurements were compared with histological fibrosis stage. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed.

Results: MRE detected stage F1 fibrosis with an AUC of 0.89 and stage F2 fibrosis with an AUC of 0.94. Mean liver stiffness increased progressively from F0 (2.1 ± 0.3 kPa) to F3 (5.2 ± 0.6 kPa).

Conclusion: MRE provides a noninvasive, reliable method for early detection of liver fibrosis, potentially reducing the need for invasive liver biopsy in NAFLD patients.

Keywords: MR elastography, liver fibrosis, NAFLD, noninvasive imaging, quantitative MRI