The role of circulating microRNAs for the diagnosis of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma with low alpha-fetoprotein level: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Cheng Peng 1 2 , Zhuonan Li 3 , Zishan Xie 1 4 , Zhanpeng Wang 1 , Yanshuo Ye 1 , Bo Li 5 , Wei Li 6
Affiliations
Affiliations
1
Department of Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, 126 Xiantai Street, Changchun, 130033, China.
2
Department of Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China.
3
Department of Plastic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130033, China.
4
Department of Ultrasonography, the Eighth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen, 518020, China.
5
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, China.
6
Department of Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, 126 Xiantai Street, Changchun, 130033, China. [email protected].
PMID: 32736604 DOI: 10.1186/s12876-020-01345-5
Abstract
Background: Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has been widely used for many years as a serum marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, AFP has been recognized as having poor sensitivity. More and more studies have concluded that circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) might be a promising biomarker that could complement AFP. However, the diagnostic ability of circulating miRNAs has varied among the studies. Therefore, we performed the present meta-analysis to appraise the diagnostic performance of circulating miRNAs as a biomarker for hepatitis B virus-associated HCC (HBV-HCC) patients with low AFP levels.
Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature to assess the diagnostic accuracy of circulating miRNAs in differentiating HBV-HCC patients with low AFP levels from non-HCC controls.
Results: Circulating miRNAs showed promising potential in the diagnosis of HBV-HCC patients with low AFP levels. In the low-AFP HBV-HCC patients, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.84-0.90). The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.84 (95% CI: 0.78-0.88) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.69-0.83), respectively.
Conclusions: The detection of circulating miRNAs provides a valuable method for the diagnosis of HBV-HCC in patients with low AFP levels.