A new type of cell therapy could offer “real hope” to patients with advanced liver disease, as the first treatment for this condition.
Results from the MATCH clinical trial found that patients with such disease, who were treated with the cell therapy for four years, had a significantly lower risk of death or need for a liver transplant, compared with those who received standard medical care.
While the liver has the unique ability to regenerate itself after damage, in patients with advanced liver disease, severe scarring – known as cirrhosis – can leave the organ damaged beyond the ability of the body to repair it, leading to liver failure.
Experts said the new treatment could offer a potential alternative to liver transplants for those in end-stage liver disease, which is currently the only curative treatment option.
“Liver disease is a major cause of death of people of working age.
“Although we can use liver transplantation as a rescue treatment for a proportion of people who have advanced liver disease, this is restricted by a lack of suitable donor organs,” said study corresponding author and University of Edinburgh Institute for Regeneration and Repair director Prof Dr Stuart Forbes.
“Unfortunately, many patients may die whilst on the liver transplant waiting list.
“There is therefore a desperate need for alternative treatments for patients with advanced liver disease,” he added.
“We hope this type of approach could one day add to our treatment choices for patients with advanced liver disease, reducing the need for liver transplants.”
More than three-quarters of people are diagnosed with cirrhosis when it is too late for effective treatment, contributing to more than a million deaths per year globally, according to experts.
The new cell therapy is designed to tackle the scarred tissue and restore liver function.
The treatment involves taking immune cells from the patients’ blood and turning them into mature macrophages – a type of white blood cell that “eats” damaged or infected cells – which are then re-injected back into the patient.
The macrophages then travel to the liver, where they break down scar tissue, reduce harmful inflammation and encourage the growth of healthy liver cells.
The researchers said that after four years, 70% of patients who received the macrophage therapy were living without the need for a liver transplant, compared with 40% of patients who did not receive the treatment.
There were eight deaths and no liver transplants among the patients treated with macrophages, compared with nine deaths and five liver transplants among those who received standard care.
The scientists said that no serious side effects were reported in patients treated with the cell therapy.
They said that the four-year follow-up period provides important insights into the safety of the treatment and the long-term benefits.
“For people living with cirrhosis, these results offer something that has been in desperately short supply for far too long: real hope.
“Being told that a liver transplant may be your only option – and that one may never come – is devastating for patients and families,” said British Liver Trust chief executive Pamela Healy.
“A treatment that could slow or reverse liver failure, and reduce the need for transplantation, would be truly life-changing.”
The study, funded by Britain’s Medical Research Council and Chief Scientist Office, was published in the science journal Cell Stem Cell on May 25 (2026). – PA Media/dpa
