Diagnostic Accuracy of circRNAs in Esophageal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Early detection of esophageal cancer is beneficial to the survival and prognosis of patients. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been shown to be a potential biomarker for cancer, which can be used for the diagnosis of esophageal cancer. However, the roles of circRNAs in the diagnosis of esophageal cancer has been controversial. The present study, therefore, is aimed at determining the diagnostic accuracy of circRNAs in esophageal cancer.

Relevant researches were searched from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, OVID, and ISI Web of Science online databases up to March 11, 2019. The estimation of diagnostic indicators, threshold effect, and publication bias were measured by a bivariate binomial mixed model, the Spearman correlation, and Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test, respectively.

Five studies from 4 articles were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, overall positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.69-0.87), 0.85 (95% CI: 0.68-0.94), 5.27 (95% CI: 2.46-11.32), 0.24 (95% CI: 0.16-0.36), 21.66 (95% CI: 9.33-50.30), and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.84-0.90), respectively. The Spearman correlation coefficient was 0.60 (P = 0.285). The P value of Deeks' funnel plot was 0.81.

The above-mentioned results suggested that circRNAs possess a relatively higher diagnostic performance in distinguishing esophageal cancer patients from healthy individuals. Therefore, they may serve as potential clinical biomarkers for esophageal cancer diagnosis.