Open AccessA Meta-Analysis of the Diagnostic Accuracy of Circular RNAs in Digestive System Malignancy
Author(s) -
Zhiqiang Chen,
Long Zhang,
Guoyong Han,
Xueliang Zuo,
Yao Zhang,
Qin Zhu,
Junli Wu,
Xuehao Wang
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
cellular physiology and biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.486
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1421-9778
pISSN - 1015-8987
DOI - 10.1159/000487291
Subject(s) - malignancy , odds ratio , diagnostic odds ratio , confidence interval , medicine , cancer , meta analysis , sample size determination , gastroenterology , oncology , bioinformatics , biology , statistics , mathematics
Background/Aims: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of noncoding RNAs, have been found to be dysregulated in various cancers. However, the clinical application value of these circRNAs in digestive system cancers remains to be clarified. We aimed to comprehensively explore the potential role of circRNAs as diagnostic indicators in digestive system malignancies. Methods: Relevant studies were systematically retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library. The data that were required to complete 2 × 2 contingency tables were obtained from the included studies. Stratified analyses by cancer type, sample size and publication year were performed. Results: Thirteen studies with 2,276 individuals were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of circRNAs in the diagnosis of digestive system malignancy were 0.72 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.65-0.77] and 0.77 (95% CI: 0.72-0.81), respectively. The overall positive likelihood ratio was 3.09 (95% CI: 2.64-3.62), and the overall negative likelihood ratio was 0.37 (95% CI: 0.31-0.44). The pooled diagnostic odds ratio was 8.38 (95% CI: 6.86-10.25), and the overall area under the curve was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.77-0.84), indicating good discriminative ability of circRNAs as biomarkers for digestive system malignancy. Conclusion: circRNAs distinguish patients with digestive system cancer from controls with relatively high diagnostic accuracy. circRNAs may be used as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of digestive system malignancy.