title: ANOVA model for network meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy data.
abstract: Procedures combining and summarising direct and indirect evidence from independent studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of different tests for the same disease are referred to network meta-analysis. Network meta-analysis provides a unified inference framework and uses the data more efficiently. Nonetheless, handling the inherent correlation between sensitivity and specificity continues to be a statistical challenge. We developed an arm-based hierarchical model which expresses the logit transformed sensitivity and specificity as the sum of fixed effects for test, correlated study-effects to model the inherent correlation between sensitivity and specificity and a random error associated with various tests evaluated in a given study. We present the accuracy of 11 tests used to triage women with minor cervical lesions to detect cervical precancer. Finally, we compare the results with those from a contrast-based model which expresses the linear predictor as a contrast to a comparator test. The proposed arm-based model is more appealing than the contrast-based model since the former permits more straightforward interpretation of the parameters, makes use of all available data yielding shorter credible intervals, and models more natural variance-covariance matrix structures.
authors.affiliation: 1 Scientific Institute of Public Health, Unit of Cancer Epidemiology/Belgian Cancer Center, Belgium.|2 Hasselt University, I-Biostat, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Victoria N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Nyaga
authors.affiliation: 2 Hasselt University, I-Biostat, Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aerts
authors.affiliation: 1 Scientific Institute of Public Health, Unit of Cancer Epidemiology/Belgian Cancer Center, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arbyn
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014218:Triage; D000071076:Network Meta-Analysis as Topic
keywords: Meta-analysis; arm-based; diagnostic tests; hierarchical model; network meta-analysis