scholarly journals Can Serum Glypican-3 Be a Biomarker for Effective Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma? A Meta-Analysis of the Literature

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng-Li Yang ◽  
Xiefan Fang ◽  
Zao-Zao Huang ◽  
Xiang-Jie Liu ◽  
Zhi-Fan Xiong ◽  
...  

Objective. This review is to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum GPC3 for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to conflicting results reported.Methods. NCBI PubMed and Embase were comprehensively searched for studies that have used serum GPC3 level as a diagnostic index for HCC. The quality of the included studies was assessed. Subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of GPC3 as a HCC marker. Statistical analysis was performed with the software STATA version 12.0.Results. A total of 22 studies were included. The qualities of included studies were relatively poor. Among them, 18 studies have shown that serum GPC3 is a specific biomarker for HCC, and the pooled sensitivity and specificity of these studies were 69 and 93%, respectively. The other 4 studies have reported conflicting results, which were not caused by races, infection status of HBV and HCV, or assay reagents but due to one common experimental design of enrolling liver cirrhosis patients as control subjects.Conclusions. This meta-analysis indicates that serum GPC3 is elevated in HCC patients compared with healthy individuals, but more studies are needed to evaluate its effectiveness to differentially diagnose HCC and liver cirrhosis.

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Xi ◽  
Chunqing Yang

AbstractObjectivesThe main aim of the present study was to assess the diagnostic value of alpha-l-fucosidase (AFU) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsStudies that explored the diagnostic value of AFU in HCC were searched in EMBASE, SCI, and PUBMED. The sensitivity, specificity, and DOR about the accuracy of serum AFU in the diagnosis of HCC were pooled. The methodological quality of each article was evaluated with QUADAS-2 (quality assessment for studies of diagnostic accuracy 2). Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) analysis was performed. Statistical analysis was conducted by using Review Manager 5 and Open Meta-analyst.ResultsEighteen studies were selected in this study. The pooled estimates for AFU vs. α-fetoprotein (AFP) in the diagnosis of HCC in 18 studies were as follows: sensitivity of 0.7352 (0.6827, 0.7818) vs. 0.7501 (0.6725, 0.8144), and specificity of 0.7681 (0.6946, 0.8283) vs. 0.8208 (0.7586, 0.8697), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 7.974(5.302, 11.993) vs. 13.401 (8.359, 21.483), area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7968 vs. 0.8451, respectively.ConclusionsAFU is comparable to AFP for the diagnosis of HCC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Xueying Wang ◽  
Yangyu Zhang ◽  
Na Yang ◽  
Hua He ◽  
Xuerong Tao ◽  
...  

The role of α-fetoprotein (AFP) in the surveillance and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been questioned in recent years due to its low sensitivity and specificity. In addition to AFP, several new serum biomarkers, such as lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive fraction of AFP (AFP-L3) and des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP), have also been identified as useful HCC serological markers. However, the exact diagnostic value of the combinations of these biomarkers for detecting HCC in patients with liver disease remains unclear. Thus, we performed the current meta-analysis to assess performance of AFP+AFP-L3%+DCP for diagnosing HCC. Studies were systematically searched in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, CNKI, and WanFang Data databases. After full-text evaluation, 13 studies from 11 articles focusing on the combination of the three serum biomarkers for HCC detection were enrolled. Random-effects models were used due to the presence of heterogeneity. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for AFP+AFP-L3%+DCP were 88% and 79%, respectively. The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve was 0.91, and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 28.33 (95% CI 16.78-47.83). Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled sensitivity and specificity of AFP+AFP-L3%+DCP in the diagnosis of HCC versus cirrhosis patients were 0.81 and 0.82, respectively. In conclusion, the combination of AFP, AFP-L3%, and DCP may prove to be useful in the diagnosis and screening of HCC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Jiang ◽  
Jimin He ◽  
Yiqin Li ◽  
Yongcan Guo ◽  
Hualin Tao

Background. Recently, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in diagnosing cancer has been attracted increasing attention. However, few miRNAs have been applied in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of miRNAs for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at early stages clinically. Methods. A literature search was carried out using PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases. We explored the diagnostic value of miRNAs in distinguishing HCC from healthy individuals. The quality assessment was performed in Review Manager 5.3 software. The overall sensitivity and specificity and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained with random-effects models through Stata 14.0 software. And heterogeneity was assessed using Q test and I2 statistics. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were conducted based on the sample, nation, quality of studies, and miRNA profiling. The publication bias was evaluated through Deeks’ funnel plot. Results. A total of 34 studies, involving in 2747 HCC patients and 2053 healthy individuals, met the inclusion criteria in the 33 included literature studies. In the summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve, AUC was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.90–0.94), with 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79–0.88) sensitivity and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.83–0.90) specificity. There was no publication bias (P=0.48). Conclusion. miRNAs in vivo can be acted as a potential diagnostic biomarker for HCC, which can facilitate the early diagnosis of HCC in clinical practice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 1485-1500
Author(s):  
Lichao Yang ◽  
Chunmeng Wei ◽  
Yasi Li ◽  
Xiao He ◽  
Min He

Aim: The aim was to systematically investigate the miRNA biomarkers for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Materials & methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of miRNA expression in HCC were performed. Results: A total of 4903 cases from 30 original studies were comprehensively analyzed. The sensitivity and specificity of miR-224 in discriminating early-stage HCC patients from benign lesion patients were 0.868 and 0.792, which were superior to α-fetoprotein. Combined miR-224 with α-fetoprotein, the sensitivity and specificity were increased to 0.882 and 0.808. Prognostic survival analysis showed low expression of miR-125b and high expression of miR-224 were associated with poor prognosis. Conclusion: miR-224 had a prominent diagnostic efficiency in early-stage HCC, with miR-224 and miR-125b being valuable in the prognostic diagnosis.


Author(s):  
Beatrice Heim ◽  
Florian Krismer ◽  
Klaus Seppi

AbstractDifferential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes is considered one of the most challenging in neurology. Quantitative MR planimetric measurements were reported to discriminate between progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and non-PSP-parkinsonism. Several studies have used midbrain to pons ratio (M/P) and the Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index (MRPI) in distinguishing PSP patients from those with Parkinson's disease. The current meta-analysis aimed to compare the performance of these measures in discriminating PSP from multiple system atrophy (MSA). A systematic MEDLINE review identified 59 out of 2984 studies allowing a calculation of sensitivity and specificity using the MRPI or M/P. Meta-analyses of results were carried out using random effects modelling. To assess study quality and risk of bias, the QUADAS-2 tool was used. Eight studies were suitable for analysis. The meta‐analysis showed a pooled sensitivity and specificity for the MRPI of PSP versus MSA of 79.2% (95% CI 72.7–84.4%) and 91.2% (95% CI 79.5–96.5%), and 84.1% (95% CI 77.2–89.2%) and 89.2% (95% CI 81.8–93.8%), respectively, for the M/P. The QUADAS-2 toolbox revealed a high risk of bias regarding the methodological quality of patient selection and index test, as all patients were seen in a specialized outpatient department without avoiding case control design and no predefined threshold was given regarding MRPI or M/P cut-offs. Planimetric brainstem measurements, in special the MRPI and M/P, yield high diagnostic accuracy for the discrimination of PSP from MSA. However, there is an urgent need for well-designed, prospective validation studies to ameliorate the concerns regarding the risk of bias.


2018 ◽  
Vol 100-B (12) ◽  
pp. 1542-1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. van den Kieboom ◽  
P. Bosch ◽  
J. D. J. Plate ◽  
F. F. A. IJpma ◽  
R. Kuehl ◽  
...  

Aims To assess the diagnostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), leucocyte count (LC), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in late fracture-related infection (FRI). Materials and Methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched focusing on the diagnostic value of CRP, LC, and ESR in late FRI. Sensitivity and specificity combinations were extracted for each marker. Average estimates were obtained using bivariate mixed effects models. Results A total of 8284 articles were identified but only six were suitable for inclusion. Sensitivity of CRP ranged from 60.0% to 100.0% and specificity from 34.3% to 85.7% in all publications considered. Five articles were pooled for meta-analysis, showing a sensitivity and specificity of 77.0% and 67.9%, respectively. For LC, this was 22.9% to 72.6%, and 73.5% to 85.7%, respectively, in five articles. Four articles were pooled for meta-analysis, resulting in a 51.7% sensitivity and 67.1% specificity. For ESR, sensitivity and specificity ranged from 37.1% to 100.0% and 59.0% to 85.0%, respectively, in five articles. Three articles were pooled in meta-analysis, showing a 45.1% sensitivity and 79.3% specificity. Four articles analyzed the value of combined inflammatory markers, reporting an increased diagnostic accuracy. These results could not be pooled due to heterogeneity. Conclusion The serum inflammatory markers CRP, LC, and ESR are insufficiently accurate to diagnose late FRI, but they may be used as a suggestive sign in its diagnosis.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1665
Author(s):  
Dong Hwan Kim ◽  
Sang Hyun Choi ◽  
Ju Hyun Shim ◽  
So Yeon Kim ◽  
Seung Soo Lee ◽  
...  

Our meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of surveillance magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) for detecting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to compare the diagnostic performance of sMRI between different protocols. Original articles about the diagnostic accuracy of sMRI for detecting HCC were found in major databases. The meta-analytic pooled sensitivity and specificity of sMRI for detecting HCC were determined using a bivariate random effects model. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of full MRI and abbreviated MRI protocols were compared using bivariate meta-regression. In the total seven included studies (1830 patients), the pooled sensitivity of sMRI for any-stage HCC and very early-stage HCC were 85% (95% confidence interval, 79–90%; I2 = 0%) and 77% (66–85%; I2 = 32%), respectively. The pooled specificity for any-stage HCC and very early-stage HCC were 94% (90–97%; I2 = 94%) and 94% (88–97%; I2 = 96%), respectively. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of abbreviated MRI protocols were 87% (80–94%) and 94% (90–98%), values that were comparable with those of full MRI protocols (84% [76–91%] and 94% [89–99%]; p = 0.83). In conclusion, sMRI had good sensitivity for detecting HCC, particularly very early-stage HCC. Abbreviated MRI protocols for HCC surveillance had comparable diagnostic performance to full MRI protocols.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyi Zhang ◽  
Chengyang Xu ◽  
Rui Zhao ◽  
Zhipeng Cao

Biomarkers such as B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-terminal pro-BNP (NT-proBNP), cardiac troponin (cTn), and CK-MB contribute significantly to the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recent studies have demonstrated that suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) is associated with CVD, but a meta-analysis of ST2 levels in different CVDs has yet to be conducted. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate soluble ST2 (sST2) levels in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial infarction (MI), and heart failure (HF). A total of 1,425 studies were searched across four databases, of which 16 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) values of all 16 studies were ≥7. The meta-analysis results indicated that the sST2 level was not correlated with IHD (standard mean difference [SMD] = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.00 to 1.16, p = 0.05) or MI (weighted mean difference [WMD] = 0.17, 95% CI = −0.22 to 0.55, p = 0.40) but was significantly associated with HF (WMD = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.04 to 0.38, p = 0.02; I2 = 99%, p < 0.00001). sST2 levels did not differ significantly between patients with IHD or MI and healthy individuals; however, we believe that ST2 could be used as an auxiliary diagnostic biomarker of HF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaat Hebbrecht ◽  
Katrien Skorobogatov ◽  
Erik J. Giltay ◽  
Violette Coppens ◽  
Livia De Picker ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTryptophan catabolites (TRYCATs) are implicated in the pathophysiology of mood disorders by mediating immune-inflammation and neurodegenerative processes. We performed a meta-analysis of TRYCAT levels in bipolar disorder (BD) patients compared to healthy controls.MethodsA systematic literature search in seven electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane, Emcare, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier) was conducted on TRYCAT levels in cerebrospinal fluid or peripheral blood according to the PRISMA statement. A minimum of three studies per TRYCAT was required for inclusion. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were computed using random effect models. Subgroup analyses were performed for BD patients in a different mood state (depressed, manic). The methodological quality of the studies was rated using the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Quality assessment Scale.ResultsTwenty-one eligible studies were identified. Peripheral levels of tryptophan (SMD = -0.44; p < 0.001), kynurenine (SMD = - 0.3; p = 0.001) and kynurenic acid (SMD = -.45; p = < 0.001) were lower in BD patients versus healthy controls. In the only three eligible studies investigating TRP in cerebrospinal fluid, tryptophan was not significantly different between BD and healthy controls. The methodological quality of the studies was moderate. Subgroup analyses revealed no significant difference in TRP and KYN values between manic and depressed BD patients, but these results were based on a limited number of studies.ConclusionThe TRYCAT pathway appears to be downregulated in BD patients. There is a need for more and high-quality studies of peripheral and central TRYCAT levels, preferably using longitudinal designs.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e018132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Phang Romero Casas ◽  
Marrissa Martyn-St James ◽  
Jean Hamilton ◽  
Daniel S Marinho ◽  
Rodolfo Castro ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the test performance including sensitivity and specificity of rapid immunochromatographic syphilis (ICS) point-of-care (POC) tests at antenatal clinics compared with reference standard tests (non-treponemal (TP) and TP tests) for active syphilis in pregnant women.MethodsFive electronic databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, CRD, Cochrane Library and LILACS) to March 2016 for diagnostic accuracy studies of ICS test and standard reference tests for syphilis in pregnant women. Methodological quality was assessed using QUADAS-2 (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies). A bivariate meta-analysis was undertaken to generate pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters. Results were presented using a coupled forest plot of sensitivity and specificity and a scatter plot.ResultsThe methodological quality of the five included studies with regards to risk of bias and applicability concern judgements was either low or unclear. One study was judged as high risk of bias for patient selection due to exclusion of pregnant women with a previous history of syphilis, and one study was judged at high risk of bias for study flow and timing as not all patients were included in the analysis. Five studies contributed to the meta-analysis, providing a pooled sensitivity and specificity for ICS of 0.85 (95% CrI: 0.73 to 0.92) and 0.98 (95% CrI: 0.95 to 0.99), respectively.ConclusionsThis review and meta-analysis observed that rapid ICS POC tests have a high sensitivity and specificity when performed in pregnant women at antenatal clinics. However, the methodological quality of the existing evidence base should be taken into consideration when interpreting these results.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42016036335.


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