Abstract
Background: The liver-specific microRNA-122 (miR-122) has been demonstrated as a powerful and promising biomarker of hepatic diseases. However, the researches on the accuracy of miR122 detection in chronic viral hepatitis have been inconsistent, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis to systematically summarize the diagnostic value of circulating miR-122 in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated chronic viral hepatitis.Methods: A comprehensive literature search (updated to January 30, 2019) in PubMed, Cochrane library, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang, and CQVIP databases was performed to identify eligible studies. The sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were pooled to explore the diagnostic performance of circulating miR-122. Subgroup and threshold effect analysis were further carried out to explore the heterogeneity.Results: Overall, 15 studies were finally included in this meta-analysis according to the exclusion and inclusion criteria. The pooled estimates indicated a moderately high diagnostic accuracy for circulating miR-122, with a sensitivity of 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.86–0.95], a specificity of 0.84 (95% CI, 0.78–0.89), a PLR of 5.7 (95% CI, 4.7–8.1), a NLR of 0.1 (95% CI, 0.06–0.18), a DOR of 57 (95% CI 25-129), and an AUC of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.91–0.95). The subgroup analysis demonstrated that diagnostic accuracy was better for HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis patients and non-Chinese compared with other subgroups. In addition, we found that serum might be a more promising matrix for detecting the expression of miR-122 than plasma.Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that circulating miR-122 have a relatively high diagnostic value for chronic viral hepatitis detection, especially in the patients with HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis. However, further large cohort studies are still required to confirm our findings.
Highlights
Hepatitis usually refers to inflammation of the liver tissue, which may result from both infectious and noninfectious causes
In order to retrieve all the articles analyzing the diagnostic value of miR-122 in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic viral hepatitis, a comprehensive literature search in PubMed, Cochrane library, EMBASE, and CNKI Wanfang and CQVIP databases was performed without language restrictions
Studies were considered eligible for inclusion in this meta-analysis had to fulfill the following criteria: (1) evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-122 in patients with HBV and/or HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis; (2) the patients with HBV-associated chronic viral hepatitis should be positive for HBV surface antigen, positive for HBV DNA, while the diagnosis of HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis was based on the detection of anti-HCV antibodies and consistent detection of HCV RNA, for at least 6 months; (3) each study involved both experimental and control groups; (4) the miR-122 expression was measured in serum or plasma samples; (5) articles provided sufficient data
Summary
Hepatitis usually refers to inflammation of the liver tissue, which may result from both infectious (e.g. viral and bacterial) and noninfectious causes (e.g. alcohol, certain medications, and toxins). Liver biopsy is still the gold standard for assessing the precise extent and pattern of inflammation and fibrosis of the liver Some of these diagnostic approaches are invasive while some fail in early detection of disease due to the limited sensitivity which can only be used in advanced cases [4]. The researches on the accuracy of miR122 detection in chronic viral hepatitis have been inconsistent, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis to systematically summarize the diagnostic value of circulating miR-122 in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated chronic viral hepatitis. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that circulating miR-122 have a relatively high diagnostic value for chronic viral hepatitis detection, especially in the patients with HCV-associated chronic viral hepatitis. Further large cohort studies are still required to confirm our findings
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