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Detection of a Circulating MicroRNA Custom Panel in Patients with Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Published on: March 14, 2019
MicroRNAs as novel biomarkers for pancreatic cancer diagnosis: a meta-analysis based on 18 articles
Zhongyang Ding1, Haorong Wu, Jiaming Zhang
1Department of General Surgery, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 299, Qingyang Road, Wuxi, 214023, China.
Abstract:
Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be associated with pancreatic cancer (PaC), suggesting that they may serve as useful novel diagnostic biomarkers for PaC. Various studies have been performed to investigate the diagnostic value of miRNAs for PaC but have obtained conflicting results. Therefore, this meta-analysis aims to comprehensively and quantitatively evaluate the potential diagnostic value of miRNAs for PaC. We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure for publications concerning the diagnostic value of miRNAs for PaC without language restriction. The quality of each study was scored using the revised Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2). The summary receiver operator characteristic curve and other parameters were applied to check the overall test performance. Heterogeneity was tested with the I (2) test and publication bias was tested with the Deek's funnel plot asymmetry test. This meta-analysis included 18 articles with a total of 2,036 patients and 1,444 controls. The pooled sensitivity was 82 % (95 % CI, 78-86 %); the specificity was 77 % (95 % CI, 73-81 %); the PLR was 3.6 (95 % CI, 3.0-4.4); the NLR was 0.23 (95 % CI, 0.18-0.29); the DOR was 16 (95 % CI, 10-24); and the AUC was 0.86 (95 % CI, 0.83-0.89). Subgroups analyses were also performed and revealed that there were significant differences between some subgroups: the multiple-miRNAs profiling-based assays, non-blood-based assays, and healthy control-based studies all showed higher accuracies in diagnosing PaC than that of their counterparts. This meta-analysis suggests that the use of miRNAs has potential diagnostic value with a relatively high sensitivity and specificity for PaC, particularly the use of multiple miRNAs for discriminating PaC patients from healthy individuals. More prospective studies on the diagnostic value of miRNAs for PaC are needed in the future.
Insights
Dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) show diagnostic potential for pancreatic cancer (PaC). This meta-analysis confirms miRNAs offer high sensitivity and specificity for PaC detection, especially when multiple miRNAs are used.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are implicated in pancreatic cancer (PaC) pathogenesis.
- Dysregulated miRNAs are potential diagnostic biomarkers for PaC.
- Previous studies on miRNA diagnostic value for PaC yielded conflicting results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs for pancreatic cancer.
- To consolidate existing evidence on miRNAs as biomarkers for PaC detection.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across multiple databases (PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, CNKI).
- Inclusion of 18 studies with 2,036 PaC patients and 1,444 controls.
- Meta-analysis using summary receiver operator characteristic (sROC) curves and QUADAS-2 for quality assessment.
Main Results:
- Pooled sensitivity: 82%, specificity: 77%, AUC: 0.86.
- Multiple miRNAs profiling and non-blood-based assays demonstrated higher diagnostic accuracy.
- Subgroup analyses indicated significant differences in diagnostic performance based on assay type and control group.
Conclusions:
- miRNAs possess significant diagnostic potential for pancreatic cancer with good sensitivity and specificity.
- Utilizing multiple miRNAs, particularly in non-blood-based assays, enhances PaC diagnostic accuracy.
- Further prospective studies are warranted to validate the diagnostic utility of miRNAs for PaC.
