title: Identification of miRNAs as potential new biomarkers for nervous system cancer.
abstract: Several recent studies have indicated the possibility of detecting dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) to diagnose nervous system cancer (NSC). Our study was conducted to explore the clinical applicability of miRNAs as potential ideal biomarkers for the diagnosis of NSC. For this meta-analysis, a systematic literature search was conducted in the Embase, Medline, Cochrane, Wangfang, and Sinomed databases. A standard quality tool-quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies was employed to assess the quality of the included studies. Specificity, sensitivity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under curve (AUC) were pooled to assess overall test accuracy. In total, 25 studies from 7 articles, including 388 patients with NSC and 435 controls (healthy controls and patients with neurologic disorders), were included in this meta-analysis. For the studied miRNAs, the pooled sensitivity, specificity, and DOR for predicting NSC were 85% (95% confidence interval [CI] 80-89%), 85% (95% CI 80-89%), and 32 (95% CI 19-55), respectively. The pooled AUC for miRNAs identifying NSC was 0.92. In addition, results from subgroup analyses indicated that using miRNA panels yield a much better diagnostic accuracy when compared with using a particular miRNA. The current evidence suggests that miRNAs, especially miRNA panels on body fluids, may be suitable for use as diagnostic biomarkers for NSC patients. However, more prospective studies using larger cohorts should be conducted to confirm their degree of accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, 309th Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing, 100091, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jinchuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Cuili
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Di
authors.forename: Guiliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yaqun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009420:Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs