Role of serum and salivary microRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers in gastric cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Incidence of Gastric cancer (GC) is increasing alarmingly in the recent past due to changing lifestyle and diet pattern. GC usually has poor prognosis due to delayed diagnosis. Salivary and serum biomarkers are a potential early diagnostic tool for GC. MicroRNAs are promising biomarkers due to their stability in these body fluids and their pivotal role in carcinogenesis. This study helps to determine the role of serum and salivary microRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers in gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: The systematic review was performed as per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The population, intervention, comparison, outcomes, and study (PICOS) framework was used as a strategy for this review. The data were retrieved from online databases such as Medline (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, and SpringerLink. Risk of bias and applicability concerns were evaluated using the four domains of QUADAS-2: patient selection, index test, reference standard, procedure and timing. Results: Quality evaluation based on diagnostic accuracy revealed that five studies conducted by Hou et al., Jianhong et al., Kaczor-Urbanowicz et al., Saliminejad et al., and So JBY et al. had the lowest risk of bias, according to a risk of bias chart created using Revman 5.4.1 software. A serum 12-miRNA biomarker assay was validated by the low risk of bias research. Conclusion: This systematic review provides an insight into the possible role and application of an array of miRNAs from various body fluids as a biomarker for the early detection of gastric cancer. The serum 12-miRNA biomarker assay, validated by a low risk of bias research can serve as a potential diagnostic tool to detect gastric cancer. However, the validation of other salivary, serum, and plasma miRNAs as a diagnostic biomarker for gastric cancer mandates further long-term follow-up studies in diverse ethnicity of populations.