Meta Analysis of Diagnostic Value of Circulating MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Esophageal Cancer

ZHANG Jiacheng; GAO Ya; KONG Dejiu; HU Xiaochen; LIU Ying; SHEN Shen; ZHANG Jiechong; YUAN Xiang; WANG Xinshuai

doi:10.15926/j.cnki.issn2096-7381.2023.04.003

Abstract：Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of circulating microRNAs in the detection of esophageal cancer.Methods A systematic literature search was conducted on relevant studies in English databases(Embase,Pubmed,Cochrane)and Chinese databases(CNKI,Wanfang,Weipu)until April 21,2022.OpenMetaAnalyst and RevMan5.3 software packages were used for statistical analysis.A bivariate ran-dom effects model(BRM)was used to comprehensively evaluate the overall microRNAs detection perform-ance,including the analysis of sensitivity and specificity parameters.Subgroup analysis was used to evaluate the heterogeneity,and sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the robustness of the analysis.The Deeks fun-nel plot asymmetry test was used to evaluate the publication bias of the selected studies.Results 10 articles including 15 studies were included in this study,including 995 cases of esophageal cancer and 612 cases in the control group.The overall sensitivity and specificity were 0.838(95％CI:0.782～0.882)and 0.780(95％CI:0.691～0.848),respectively.The overall diagnostic odds ratio(DOR),positive likelihood ratio(PLR),and negative likelihood ratio(NLR)were 22.532(95％CI:12.237-41.487),3.598(95％CI:2.622-4.937),and 0.185(95％CI:0.121-0.283),respectively.According to the re-search design and microRNAs spectrum analysis of subgroups,it was found that multiple microRNAs panels were more accurate in detecting esophageal cancer,with a combined DOR of 30.428(95％CI:8.58-105.37).Conclusion Circulating microRNAs may serve as non-invasive detection biomarkers in the diag-nosis of esophageal cancer.When multiple microRNAs kits can be used for clinical diagnosis,they may be-come a screening tool in clinical practice.