Aberrant Methylation of Genes in Sputum Samples as Diagnostic Biomarkers for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: a Meta-analysis

Background: We aimed to comprehensively review the evidence for using sputum DNA to detect non-small celllung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and
Methods: We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, ChineseBiological Medicine (CBM), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang, Vip Databasesand Google Scholar from 2003 to 2013. The meta-analysis was carried out using a random-effect model withsensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odd ratios (DOR), summary receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCcurves), area under the curve (AUC), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) as effect measurements.
Results: Therewere twenty-two studies meeting the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. Combined sensitivity and specificitywere 0.62 (95%CI: 0.59-0.65) and 0.73 (95%CI: 0.70-0.75), respectively. The DOR was 10.3 (95%CI: 5.88-18.1)and the AUC was 0.78.
Conclusions: The overall accuracy of the test was currently not strong enough for thedetection of NSCLC for clinical application. Dscovery and evaluation of additional biomarkers with improvedsensitivity and specificity from studies rated high quality deserve further attention.