Background: Circulating microRNAs are novel diagnostic markers for various types of cancer. Several studies have investigated the diagnostic accuracy of circulating miR-126 for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), but the results varied. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126 for MPM.
Methods: The PubMed database was searched to identify potentially eligible studies published before October 2020. The studies investigating the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126 for MPM were included in a systematic review and meta-analysis. A bivariate model was used to pool eligible studies' sensitivity and specificity. The revised tool for the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2) was used to assess eligible studies' quality.
Results: Four studies with 156 MPM patients and 459 controls were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The pooled diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of circulating miR-126 for MPM were 0.71 and 0.69, respectively. A high risk of bias was observed in the domains of patient selection, index test, and flow and timing.
Conclusions: Circulating miR-126 has limited value for diagnosing MPM. Considering that the available studies have a high risk of bias, further rigorous studies are needed to assess the diagnostic value of circulating miR-126 for MPM.
Keywords: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM); diagnosis; meta-analysis; miR-126.
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