title: Identification of microRNAs as novel biomarkers for glioma detection: a meta-analysis based on 11 articles.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Glioma is the most common and lethal primary brain tumors, and is regarded as one of the deadliest of human cancers. To date, a growing number of studies have tested the diagnostic accuracy of microRNAs (miRNAs) in glioma detection and altered levels of characteristic miRNAs have also been identified in glioma. However, there are some conflicting conclusions. Thus, we conducted this meta-analysis to evaluate the overall accuracy of miRNAs in the diagnosis of glioma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive literature search was conducted using a combination of keywords. The random effect model was used to calculate the pooled diagnostic parameters. The summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curves were plotted to assess the overall diagnostic performance of miRNAs. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to analyze the potential sources of heterogeneity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 28 studies from 11 articles covering 1729 patients and 1491 controls were available in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.83-0.91), 0.87 (95% CI: 0.81-0.91), 6.6 (95% CI: 4.5-9.6), 0.15 (95% CI: 0.10-0.21), 45 (95% CI: 23-90), and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91-0.95), respectively. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that panels of multiple miRNAs could largely improve the diagnostic accuracy. An independent meta-analysis of five included studies was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of miR-21 in patients with glioma, with a pooled sensitivity of 0.82, specificity of 0.94, PLR of 13.2, NLR of 0.19, DOR of 69 and AUC of 0.95.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis indicated the great potential of miRNAs, especially panels of multiple miRNAs, as promising biomarkers in glioma detection and monitoring. As one of the most representative miRNAs, we also found that a single miR-21 could be a powerful clinical biomarker in glioma diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, China.
authors.forename: Shengtao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, China.
authors.forename: Junhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, China. Electronic address: liuyh62@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yunhui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D005910:Glioma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Blood; Cerebrospinal fluid; Diagnosis; Glioma; Meta-analysis; miR-21; microRNA