Diagnostic accuracy of fetal MRI to detect cleft palate: a meta-analysis

AbstractThis systematic review aims to determine the diagnostic accuracy of fetal MRI for detecting cleft palate in fetuses at risk for orofacial clefts. Pubmed, Embase, and CINAHL were searched systematically. A diagnostic study was included if it performed MRI (index test) and postnatal examination (reference test) in fetuses at risk for orofacial clefts. Methodological quality was assessed using the QUADAS-2. A meta-analysis was performed with a random-effects model, calculating the pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve. The search resulted in eight studies (334 fetuses) to be included: four prospective and four retrospective studies. The applicability concern was low. There was, however, a risk of selection and information bias. All studies showed that MRI well predicted the chance of cleft palate. The sensitivity results were homogeneous, but heterogeneity was assumed regarding the specificity estimate (Cochrane’s Q test: p = 0.00). The pooled sensitivity was 0.97 (95% CI 0.93–0.99); the pooled specificity was 0.94 (0.89–0.97). The area under the curve was 0.98 (95% CI 0.98–0.99).Conclusion: This meta-analysis shows that MRI has an excellent sensitivity and good to excellent specificity for diagnosing cleft palate in fetuses at risk for orofacial clefts. Future research should assess applicability for clinical care.What is Known:• Using ultrasound for prenatal detection of cleft palate leads to misdiagnosis frequently.• MRI could potentially improve the prenatal detection rate of cleft palate.What is New:• Eight studies describe the diagnostic accuracy of MRI for detecting cleft palate.• Combined results show excellent sensitivity and good to excellent specificity.

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The Potential Diagnostic Accuracy of Circulating MicroRNAs for Leukemia: A Meta-Analysis

Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment ◽

10.1177/15330338211011958 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. 153303382110119

Author(s):

Wen-Ting Zhang ◽

Guo-Xun Zhang ◽

Shuai-Shuai Gao

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Likelihood Ratio ◽

Subgroup Analysis ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Positive Likelihood Ratio ◽

Negative Likelihood Ratio ◽

Diagnostic Odds Ratio ◽

Circulating Micrornas ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Background: Leukemia is a common malignant disease in the human blood system. Many researchers have proposed circulating microRNAs as biomarkers for the diagnosis of leukemia. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of circulating miRNAs in the diagnosis of leukemia. Methods: A comprehensive literature search (updated to October 13, 2020) in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was performed to identify eligible studies. The sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) for diagnosing leukemia were pooled for both overall and subgroup analysis. The meta-regression and subgroup analysis were performed to explore heterogeneity and Deeks’ funnel plot was used to assess publication bias. Results: 49 studies from 22 publications with a total of 3,489 leukemia patients and 2,756 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. The overall sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, diagnostic odds ratio and area under the curve were 0.83, 0.92, 10.8, 0.18, 59 and 0.94, respectively. Subgroup analysis shows that the microRNA clusters of plasma type could carry out a better diagnostic accuracy of leukemia patients. In addition, publication bias was not found. Conclusions: Circulating microRNAs can be used as a promising noninvasive biomarker in the early diagnosis of leukemia.

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Comparing the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography vs transoesophageal echocardiography for infective endocarditis − A meta-analysis

Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.12669/pjms.38.3.5139 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Liqin Jing ◽

Yanchun Song

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Infective Endocarditis ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

English Language ◽

Cardiac Computed Tomography ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Transoesophageal Echocardiography ◽

Cochrane Central Register ◽

Index Test ◽

Creative Commons

Objective: To investigate the comparative diagnostic accuracy of cardiac computed tomography (CT) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) for detecting infective endocarditis. Methods: Original publications published in English language before July, 2021 were thoroughly search in PubMed, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), and Google Scholar literature databases. Studies were included if they used CT and/or TEE as an index test, presented data on valvular complications related to infective endocarditis, and used surgical findings as to the reference standard. Results: Literature screening identified fifteen studies that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that CT sensitivity for detecting valvular abscesses was higher than that of TEE [0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.82 to 0.94; 11 studies involving 842 subjects) versus 0.74 (95% CI: 0.65 to 0.84) P = 0.015; 12 studies involving 917 subjects]. TEE showed statistically significantly greater sensitivity than CT for detecting valvular vegetation [0.91 (95% CI: 0.84 to 0.97, 11 studies involving 971 subjects) versus 0.80 (95% CI: 0.69 to 0.82), 12 studies involving 915 subjects, P =0.019. In case of leaflet detection, TEE showed statistically significantly higher sensitivity than CT (0.76 vs 0.46, P =0.010). Conclusion: CT performs statistically significantly better than TEE for detecting abscesses while TEE provides statistically significant superior results for detecting vegetation. There is a need for well-designed prospective studies to further corroborate these findings. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.5139 How to cite this:Jing L, Song Y. Comparing the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography vs transoesophageal echocardiography for infective endocarditis − A meta-analysis . Pak J Med Sci. 2022;38(3):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.38.3.5139 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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The diagnostic accuracy of isothermal nucleic acid point-of-care tests for human coronaviruses: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-79237-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pakpoom Subsoontorn ◽

Manupat Lohitnavy ◽

Chuenjid Kongkaew

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Diagnostic Test ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Isothermal Amplification ◽

Diagnostic Test Accuracy ◽

Test Accuracy ◽

Index Test ◽

Point Of Care Tests

AbstractMany recent studies reported coronavirus point-of-care tests (POCTs) based on isothermal amplification. However, the performances of these tests have not been systematically evaluated. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Diagnostic Test Accuracy was used as a guideline for conducting this systematic review. We searched peer-reviewed and preprint articles in PubMed, BioRxiv and MedRxiv up to 28 September 2020 to identify studies that provide data to calculate sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) was applied for assessing quality of included studies and Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies (PRISMA-DTA) was followed for reporting. We included 81 studies from 65 research articles on POCTs of SARS, MERS and COVID-19. Most studies had high risk of patient selection and index test bias but low risk in other domains. Diagnostic specificities were high (> 0.95) for included studies while sensitivities varied depending on type of assays and sample used. Most studies (n = 51) used reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) to diagnose coronaviruses. RT-LAMP of RNA purified from COVID-19 patient samples had pooled sensitivity at 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90–0.96). RT-LAMP of crude samples had substantially lower sensitivity at 0.78 (95% CI: 0.65–0.87). Abbott ID Now performance was similar to RT-LAMP of crude samples. Diagnostic performances by CRISPR and RT-LAMP on purified RNA were similar. Other diagnostic platforms including RT- recombinase assisted amplification (RT-RAA) and SAMBA-II also offered high sensitivity (> 0.95). Future studies should focus on the use of un-bias patient cohorts, double-blinded index test and detection assays that do not require RNA extraction.

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Diagnostic accuracy of prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3) prior to first prostate biopsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Canadian Urological Association Journal ◽

10.5489/cuaj.6008 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sandra Viviana Muñoz Rodríguez ◽

Herney Andrés García-Perdomo

Keyword(s):

Prostate Cancer ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Prostate Biopsy ◽

Reference Lists ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Diagnostic Odds Ratio ◽

Cancer Antigen ◽

Prostate Cancer Antigen

Introduction: We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the prostate cancer antigen 3 (PCA3) test before performing the first biopsy compared with prostate biopsy for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Methods: A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, LILACS, reference lists, specialized journals in urology and cancer, and unpublished literature. The population was adults with suspected prostate cancer, and the intervention was the measurement of PCA3 in urine samples for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. The quality of studies was evaluated with the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. The operative characteristics were determined, and a meta-analysis was performed. Results: Nine studies of diagnostic tests were included based on a cutoff value of 35. The following overall values were obtained: the sensitivity was 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61–0.75); specificity was 0.65 (95% CI 0.553–0.733); the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 4.244 (95% CI 3.487–5.166); and the area under the curve was 0.734 (95% CI 0.674–0.805) with a heterogeneity of 0%. Conclusions: Urinary PCA3 has an acceptable diagnostic accuracy, aids in the study of patients with suspected prostate cancer, and can be used as a guide for directing the performance of the first prostate biopsy and decreasing unnecessary biopsies.

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The Performance of CT versus MRI in the Differential Diagnosis of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1642636 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 118 (06) ◽

pp. 1067-1077 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Weilin Xu ◽

Liansheng Gao ◽

Tao Li ◽

Neha Ramdoyal ◽

Jianmin Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Differential Diagnosis ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Venous Thrombosis ◽

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis ◽

Sinus Thrombosis ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Significant Heterogeneity ◽

Summary Receiver Operating Characteristic ◽

Ct And Mri

Background Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a rare disease, and with poor prognosis. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the most commonly used image modalities for patients with non-specific neurologic symptoms. We present here a meta-analysis to assess the accuracy of CT and MRI in the differential diagnosis of CVT and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Materials and Methods A comprehensive search of the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Database and Chinese Biomedical (CBM) databases was conducted prior to March 20, 2017. In this report, we assess the methodological quality of each article individually and perform a meta-analysis to obtain the summary of the diagnostic accuracy of CT and MRI in correctly identifying CVT and CVST. Results Twenty-four eligible articles comprising 48 studies (4,595 cases) were included. The pooled sensitivity for CT–CVT/CT–CVST groups is 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.76, 0.82)/0.81(95% CI: 0.78, 0.84), and pooled specificity is 0.90 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.91)/0.89 (0.88, 0.91), with an area under the curve (AUC) for the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) of 0.9314/0.9161, respectively. No significant heterogeneity and publication bias was observed across each study. For MRI–CVT/MRI–CVST, the pooled sensitivity is 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.85)/0.80 (95% CI: 0.76, 0.83), and pooled specificity is 0.92 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.94)/0.91(0.89, 0.92), with an AUC for the SROC of 0.9221/0.9273, respectively. Conclusion This meta-analysis indicates that both CT and MRI have a high level of diagnostic accuracy in the differential diagnosis of CVT and CVST, independent of stage, target for analysis or analysis methods. They could be chosen as alternative sub-optimal gold standards for diagnosing CVT and CVST, especially in emergency.

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Diagnostic accuracy of urinary reagent strip to determine cerebrospinal fluid chemistry and cellularity

Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice ◽

10.4103/0976-3147.112737 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 04 (02) ◽

pp. 140-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Deepti Joshi ◽

Keerthi Kundana ◽

Apurva Puranik ◽

Rajnish Joshi

Keyword(s):

Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Test Strip ◽

Index Test ◽

Csf Proteins ◽

Csf Cells ◽

Overall Performance ◽

Index Tests ◽

Csf Examination

ABSTRACT Background: The gold standard for diagnosis of meningitis depends on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination by microscopy, biochemistry, and culture, which require an experienced microscopist and laboratory support. We conducted this study to determine if urinary reagent strip is useful to make a semi‑quantitative assessment of protein, glucose, and presence of leukocyte esterase in CSF. Materials and Methods: All consecutive CSF samples were evaluated in a blinded fashion. CSF was tested using Combur‑10 urinary reagent strip as an index test, and CSF microscopy and biochemistry as reference standards. Combur‑10 (Boehringer Mannheim) is a urinary reagent strip used to estimate ten parameters including protein, glucose, and leukocytes. We estimated diagnostic accuracy of each index test using corresponding cut‑off levels (glucose 1 + vs. CSF glucose >50 mg/dL; protein 1 + and 2 + vs. CSF protein >30 mg/dL and >100 mg/dL; leukocyte esterase positivity vs. >10 granulocytes in CSF sample). We constructed receiver operating curves (ROC) to evaluate overall performance of index tests and estimated area under the curve (AUC). Results: CSF samples of 75 patients were included in the study. All the three indicator tests (CSF cells, protein, and glucose) were normal in 17 (22.6%) samples. Of the three tests, diagnostic accuracy of protein estimation (1 + or more on reagent strip) was best for detection of CSF proteins greater than 30 mg/dL [sensitivity 98.1% (95% CI 90.1-100%); specificity 57.1% (95% CI 34-78.2%)], with AUC of 0.97. Sensitivity and specificity for 2 + on reagent strip and CSF protein > 100 mg/dL were 92.6% (95% CI 75.1-99.1) and 87.5% (95% CI 74.8-95.3), respectively, with AUC of 0.96 (95% CI 0.92-1.01). Leukocyte esterase positivity by test strip had a sensitivity of 85.2 (95% CI 66.3-95.8%) and specificity of 89.6 (95% CI 77.3-96.5%) for detection of CSF granulocytes of more than 10/mm3. Conclusion: Existing urinary reagent strips can be used to diagnose meningitis in low‑resource settings.

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Diagnostic value of endobronchial ultrasound elastography for differentiating benign and malignant hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Medical Ultrasonography ◽

10.11152/mu-2971 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jiangfeng Wu ◽

Yue Sun ◽

Yunlai Wang ◽

Lijing Ge ◽

Yun Jin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Likelihood Ratio ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Positive Likelihood Ratio ◽

Negative Likelihood Ratio ◽

Diagnostic Value ◽

Endobronchial Ultrasound ◽

Mediastinal Lymph Nodes ◽

Sensitivity Specificity

Aims: In the present study, a meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic value of endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) elastography for differentiating benign and malignant hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes (LNs). Material and methods: A comprehensive literature search was carried out through PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. Two authors screened the papers and extracted the data independently and any discrepancies were resolved by discussion. The methodolog-ical quality of each included study was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 tool. Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and area under the curve were calculated to evaluate the value of EBUS elastography for hilar and mediastinal LNs. Results: Seventeen studies with the number of 2307 LNs were included. There was significant heterogeneity across the included studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic odds ratio for the diagnosis of hilar and mediastinal LNs by EBUS elastography were 0.90 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84-0.94), 0.78 (95% CI, 0.74-0.81), 4.1 (95% CI, 3.4-4.9), 0.12 (95% CI, 0.07-0.21) and 33 (95% CI, 17-64), respectively. Furthermore, area under the curve was calculated to be 0.86 (95% CI, 0.82-0.88). Conclusion: EBUS elastography is a valuable technology in the differentiation of benign and malignant hilar and mediastinal LNs and could provide supplementary diagnostic information during endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration. The combination of EBUS elastography and B-mode EBUS could improve the diagnostic accuracy for hilar and mediastinal LNs.

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Digital Rectal Examination Is a Valuable Bedside Tool for Detecting Dyssynergic Defecation: A Diagnostic Study and a Meta-Analysis

Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology ◽

10.1155/2021/5685610 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Jie Liu ◽

Chaolan Lv ◽

Yizhou Huang ◽

Ying Wang ◽

Dandan Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Diagnostic Yield ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Digital Rectal Examination ◽

Functional Constipation ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Diagnostic Study ◽

Dyssynergic Defecation ◽

Rectal Examination ◽

Physiological Tests

Background. Accurate dyssynergic defecation (DD) diagnosis depends on anorectal physiological tests that are not widely available. Aim. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic yield of digital rectal examination (DRE) compared with anorectal physiological tests in diagnosing DD in patients with constipation. Methods. A total of 218 chronic constipation patients who fulfilled the Rome IV diagnostic criteria for functional constipation (FC) and underwent a standardized DRE and high-resolution anorectal manometry (HRAM) test were enrolled in this study. The diagnostic accuracy of DRE compared with HRAM was evaluated, and the agreement between DRE and HRAM was calculated. Furthermore, a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase database was conducted to further elucidate the pooled diagnostic accuracy of DRE in DD patients. Results. A total of 101 patients (46.33%) had a DD pattern using HRAM, while 117 patients (53.67%) were diagnosed without DD. The sensitivity of DRE in diagnosing dyssynergia was 71.3%, and the specificity was 76.1%. There was a moderate agreement between DRE and HRAM for diagnosing DD (κ-coefficient = 0.474, P < 0.001 ). Meanwhile, six studies (including our study) comprising 964 constipated patients were included in our meta-analysis. The outcomes demonstrated that the AUC was 0.85 (95% CI 0.82–0.88) with 77% summary sensitivity (95% CI 65–86) and 80% summary specificity (95% CI 71–86) to diagnose DD. Conclusions. DRE could be a valuable tool for screening DD. Our study revealed acceptable sensitivity and specificity of DRE in detecting dyssynergia compared with the physiological tests. Meanwhile, our study highlights that DRE remains an important tool in clinical practice.

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Diagnostic accuracy of Doppler ultrasound, CT and MRI in Budd Chiari syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis

British Journal of Radiology ◽

10.1259/bjr.20190847 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 93 (1109) ◽

pp. 20190847 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Pankaj Gupta ◽

Varun Bansal ◽

Praveen Kumar-M ◽

Saroj K Sinha ◽

Jayanta Samanta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Doppler Ultrasound ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Diagnostic Odds Ratio ◽

Budd Chiari Syndrome ◽

Chiari Syndrome ◽

Sensitivity Specificity ◽

Ct And Mri

Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of Doppler ultrasound, CT, and MRI in the diagnosis of Budd Chiari syndrome (BCS). Methods: We performed a literature search in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus to identify articles reporting the diagnostic accuracy of Doppler ultrasound, CT, and MRI (either alone or in combination) for BCS using catheter venography or surgery as the reference standard. The quality of the included articles was assessed by using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. Results: 11 studies were found eligible for inclusion. Pooled sensitivities and specificities of Doppler ultrasound were 89% [95% confidence interval (CI), 81–94%, I2 = 24.7%] and 68% (95% CI, 3–99%, I2 = 95.2%), respectively. Regarding CT, the pooled sensitivities and specificities were 89% (95% CI, 77–95%, I2 = 78.6%) and 72% (95% CI, 21–96%, I2 = 91.4%), respectively. The pooled sensitivities and specificities of MRI were 93% (95% CI, 89–96%, I2 = 10.6%) and 55% (95% CI, 5–96%, I2 = 87.6%), respectively. The pooled DOR for Doppler ultrasound, CT, and MRI were 10.19 (95% CI: 1.5, 69.2), 14.57 (95% CI: 1.13, 187.37), and 20.42 (95% CI: 1.78, 234.65), respectively. The higher DOR of MRI than that of Doppler ultrasound and CT shows the better discriminatory power. The area under the curve for MRI was 90.8% compared with 88.4% for CT and 86.6% for Doppler ultrasound. Conclusion: Doppler ultrasound, CT and MRI had high overall diagnostic accuracy for diagnosis of BCS, but substantial heterogeneity was found. Prospective studies are needed to investigate diagnostic performance of these imaging modalities. Advances in knowledge: MRI and CT have the highest meta-analytic sensitivity and specificity, respectively for the diagnosis of BCS. Also, MRI has the highest area under curve for the diagnosis of BCS.

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Diagnostic accuracy of molecular tumor profiling in determining the tissue of origin in adult patients with cancer of unknown primary: A meta-analysis.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2017.35.7_suppl.20 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (7_suppl) ◽

pp. 20-20

Author(s):

Rowena Torres Inocencio ◽

Kavitha Kesari ◽

Susan Smith

Keyword(s):

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Diagnostic Test ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Cancer Of Unknown Primary ◽

Adult Patients ◽

Unknown Primary ◽

Test Accuracy ◽

Tissue Of Origin ◽

Tumor Profiling

20 Background: Appropriate cancer treatment requires determination of the primary site of origin. The standard of care for diagnosing Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) based on the 2016 NCCN Guidelines is a comprehensive clinical work-up including biopsy and immunohistochemistry (IHC). However, IHC was able to identify a primary tumor in only 25% of CUP. Molecular tumor profiling (MTP) validation studies demonstrated sensitivities of 74-89% and specificities of 95-99%. Only a few studies with small sample sizes using MTP to diagnose the primary in CUP have been performed yielding variable results. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of MTP in determining the tissue of origin in adult patients with CUP. Methods: Literature search included articles published in any language indexed in MEDLINE and Cochrane. A Google Scholar search and a review of all published articles’ references were performed. Unpublished studies and abstracts from conference proceedings were also reviewed. Studies involving adult patients with CUP who underwent both MTP and clinical evaluation with IHC were identified. Articles were included if they had primary data sufficient to calculate both sensitivity and specificity. Methodological qualities of the included studies were evaluated using the QUADAS-2 tool. Data was analyzed using Review Manager 5.3 and MetaDiSc 1.4. Results: Seven studies with 549 patients were analyzed. MTP was found to have a pooled sensitivity of 89% (95% CI 0.85-0.92)and pooled specificity of 74% (95% CI 0.67-0.80)with pooled positive and negative likelihood ratios of 2.97 (95% CI 1.17-7.63) and 0.20 (95% CI 0.07-0.51), respectively. Area under the curve was measured to be 0.9107. Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that MTP could be useful in determining the tissue of origin in adult patients with CUP. With an area under the curve of 0.9107, it is an excellent diagnostic test. The results showed considerable heterogeneity as expected in meta-analyses of diagnostic test accuracy. In this case, it may be due to variability among the MTP assays used which may reflect different cutoffs.

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