Diagnostic value of Telomerase Activity in patients with Bladder cancer: a meta-analysis of diagnostic test
Abstract Background This article aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of telomerase activity (TA) in bladder cancer (BC) by meta-analysis of diagnostic tests. Methods We conducted a systematic search of articles published on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science up to June 1, 2019.Stata 15 and Review Manager 5.3 were used for calculation and statistical analyses. Results We use the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR,NLR),diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and 95% confidengce intervals (CIs) to evaluate the diagnostic value of TA for BC. 22 studies were included in the meta- analyses, with a total of 2867 individuals. The pooled parameters are calculated from all studies: sensitivity of 0.79(95%CI:0.72-0.84), specificity of 0.91(95%CI:0.87-0.94), PLR of 8.91(95%CI:5.91-13.43),NLR of 0.24(95%CI:0.15-0.37), DOR of 37.90(95%CI:23.32-61.59), AUC of 0.92(95%CI:0.90-0.94). We also conducted subgroup based on different stages and grades. Results from subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant difference in TA during the high and low stages BC, but low-grade tumors have lower TA than high-grade tumors. Conclusions For the diagnosis of BC, the overall diagnostic value of TA is high, and is expected to be an alternative to cystoscopy for different staging and grading. The tumor also has a very good diagnostic value.