[Chronic liver diseases--new therapy. Are biopsies necessary?]

Chronic liver disease can often reliably be assessed only by examination of biopsy material. In this article the possible indications for liver biopsy in viral hepatitis B and C, autoimmune liver disease, steatohepatitis and hereditary metabolic diseases are described. A biopsy may be useful in cases with unclear clinical or serological situations or with questionable chronicity and comorbidities. The assessment of biopsy material should be based on guideline-based classification systems. The value of biopsy diagnosis benefits from a close interdisciplinary clinical pathological cooperation.