GASTRO-LIVER WEEK 2025: Multidisciplinary Approach to Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Diseases
On December 14, 2025, University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City (UMC) hosted the scientific conference "GASTRO-LIVER WEEK 2025: Highlights & Updates" in Ho Chi Minh City, drawing more than 600 physicians and healthcare professionals from medical institutions across the country. The conference serves as an annual continuing medical education (CME) initiative, focusing on emerging advances in gastroenterology and hepatology aligned with increasingly demanding clinical practice needs.
In his opening remarks, Assoc. Prof. Le Minh Khoi, MD, PhD—Head of the Science and Training Department at UMC—emphasized that the Hospital remains committed to the Academic Medical Center model, founded on the three enduring pillars of medical education, scientific research, and clinical care. On this foundation, specialized scientific conferences such as GASTRO-LIVER WEEK play a vital role in updating knowledge, standardizing clinical practice, and elevating patient care quality. He also acknowledged the outstanding contributions of the Department of Gastroenterology in education, clinical research, and patient management, thereby reinforcing the Hospital’s leading role in advancing and networking continuing medical education across gastroenterology and hepatology.
According to Assoc. Prof. Vo Duy Thong, MD, PhD—Head of the Department of Gastroenterology at UMC—this year’s conference focused on pressing clinical topics requiring timely, in-depth updates across the specialty. Foremost among these is metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which are escalating rapidly alongside the growing burden of obesity and diabetes mellitus. Systematic risk stratification enables clinicians to optimize screening, surveillance, and management pathways rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all regimen for all patients.
Additionally, gastrointestinal tract pathologies such as motility disorders, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are undergoing pivotal paradigm shifts in diagnostic criteria and therapeutic regimens. These insights standardize clinical practice, assisting physicians in tailoring appropriate modalities and monitoring therapeutic responses with greater precision. Another focal area drawing substantial engagement was chronic hepatitis B and the paradigm shift in therapeutic endpoints toward achieving "functional cure."
Assoc. Prof. Vo Duy Thong emphasized that this endpoint extends beyond mere viral suppression; it aims for profound clearance or seroclearance of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), sustained undetectable serum HBV DNA, and normalization of liver enzymes, thereby minimizing long-term risks of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This evolving paradigm prioritizes personalized decision-making regarding whether to continue or carefully withdraw antiviral therapy, coupled with rigorous, ongoing post-discontinuation surveillance.
The clinical utility of these updates was demonstrated through an illustrative case analysis presented at the conference. The patient, a middle-aged woman diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B years prior, had been undergoing routine clinical follow-up and maintenance therapy. During longitudinal surveillance, despite achieving well-controlled viral suppression, she exhibited chronic fatigue, fluctuating transaminases, and the onset of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, significantly compounding her long-term risk of liver disease progression.
According to clinicians, this case demonstrates that chronic hepatitis B is no longer managed as an isolated pathology, but must be addressed within the comprehensive context of concurrent metabolic disorders and concomitant hepatic injuries. Under a multidisciplinary model integrating Gastroenterology-Hepatology, Endocrinology, and Diagnostic Imaging, the patient was systematically risk-stratified using non-invasive modalities to evaluate the extent of liver fibrosis while controlling underlying metabolic comorbidities. This integrated approach allows physicians to design a personalized management plan—from monitoring the progression of hepatic steatosis and optimizing metabolic control to formulating long-term strategies for chronic hepatitis B aimed at mitigating the risks of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
From the patients' perspective, the clinical advances updated during the conference deliver significant practical benefits, including earlier and safer diagnoses, tailored individualized treatment, and improved long-term prognosis and quality of life across chronic gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary diseases. Closing out GASTRO-LIVER WEEK 2025, the conference reaffirmed UMC's role in connecting leading experts, disseminating scientific knowledge, and fostering a comprehensive, patient-centered approach to digestive and liver disease management focused on sustainable clinical outcomes.