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Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleIntroduction In China, chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. The number of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers was estimated 9.09 % of the population [1]. Accurate diagnosis of liver fibrosis and inflammation are crucial for the management of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Histological diagnosis via liver biopsy has long been the gold standard for assessing the degree of fibro-sis and inflammation, but is an invasive procedure with inherent risks and sampling variability [2]. Non-invasive strategies based on blood tests, including clinical sero-logical models [3-6], serological glycomics and proteo-mics [7-9], were recently successful in predicting advanced stages of fibrosis and inflammation in some settings. However, none of these tests can completely replace liver biopsy