Comparison of the diagnostic value of liquid biopsy in leptomeningeal metastases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Hanbin Wang; Luxuan Wang; Chuan Fang; Chunhui Li; Lijian Zhang

doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.1079796

Comparison of the diagnostic value of liquid biopsy in leptomeningeal metastases: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Oncol. 2022 Dec 19:12:1079796. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1079796. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Hanbin Wang^{1

2}, Luxuan Wang³, Chuan Fang^{1

2

4

5}, Chunhui Li^{1

2}, Lijian Zhang^{1

2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Medicine College, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
² Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
³ Department of Neurological Function Examination, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
⁴ Postdoctoral Research Station of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Precise Diagnosis and Treatment of Glioma in Hebei Province, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Hebei University, Baoding, Hebei, China.

Abstract

Background: Brain metastases (BM) include brain parenchymal (BPM) and leptomeningeal metastases (LM), which are associated with a poor prognosis and high mortality rate. Early and accurate diagnosis and timely, effective treatment are crucial for improving the overall survival of LM patients. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biopsy technology has attracted widespread attention for its diagnostic value in diverse cancers, including LM. We summarized studies to compare the potential diagnostic value of CSF liquid biopsy techniques in BM patients with meta-analysis.

Methods: The study protocol was prospectively registered in PROSPERO, registration number CRD42022373263. We obtained the literature on liquid biopsy for BM from 7 databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Data knowledge service platform). Then, a systematic review of those studies was performed according to PRISMA criteria.

Results: Nine publications have been obtained, and we found CSF liquid biopsy techniques to be more suitable for diagnosing LM. We analyzed the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of CSF liquid biopsy. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of CSF liquid biopsy in the diagnosis of LM were 0.65 (95% CI: 0.48 - 0.79), 0.70 (95% CI: 0.50 - 0.86), and 0.69, respectively. Then, we compared the diagnostic advantages of CSF liquid biopsy techniques and CSF cytology in LM. The results show that CSF liquid biopsy is superior to CSF cytology in LM diagnosis.

Conclusions: Our meta-analysis suggested that CSF liquid biopsy is more suitable for LM diagnosis and has higher accuracy than CSF cytology.

Keywords: brain parenchymal metastases; diagnosis; leptomeningeal metastases; liquid biopsy; meta-analysis.

Publication types

Review