Diagnostic Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Breast Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Recent research has suggested that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is involved in the tumorigenesis and development of breast cancer (BC). This meta-analysis aimed to identify the diagnostic role of lncRNAs in BC.

All relevant studies were systematically searched through PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases. The diagnostic values of lncRNAs were mainly assessed by pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), and summary receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (SROC AUC). Meta-DiSc 1.4, Review Manager 5.3 and STATA 12.0 were used for statistical analysis.

A total of 24 eligible studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled SEN, SPE, and AUC were 0.75 (95% CI: 0.68 - 0.81), 0.77 (95% CI: 0.70 - 0.82), and 0.82 (95% CI: 0.79 - 0.86), respectively, suggesting that the lncRNAs test had a high accuracy for the diagnosis of BC. Obvious heterogeneity might come from the dysregulated state of lncRNAs through subgroup and meta-regression analysis (p < 0.001). Fagan diagram showed clinical value of lncRNAs test in BC.

Abnormal expression of lncRNAs exhibits a high efficacy for diagnosing BC, which is promising in clinical application.