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Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Jan-Dec:20:15330338211043784.
doi: 10.1177/15330338211043784.

The Prognostic Value of Circulating Tumor DNA in Ovarian Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Yuanyuan Lu  1 , Li Li  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The Prognostic Value of Circulating Tumor DNA in Ovarian Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Yuanyuan Lu et al. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2021 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) indicates a poor prognosis in ovarian cancer. In this study, meta-analysis was used to assess the relationship between ctDNA and the prognosis of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: The clinical trials included in this study were obtained via a search of PubMed, the Cochrane Library, the Web of Science and Embase between the period of establishment and March 2020. We selected clinical studies using qualitative or quantitative ctDNA methods to analyse the prognosis of ovarian epithelial cancer, screened the studies according to the determined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and used the modified JADAD score scale and NOS scale for evaluation, with OS (overall survival) and PFS (progression-free survival) as end events. The Cochrane Evaluation Tool was used to evaluate the quality of the randomized controlled trials. Stata 15.0 software was used to combine the effect ratio (hazard ratio, HR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). In addition, a source analysis of ctDNA specimens, an analysis of ctDNA detection methods and a subgroup and sensitivity analysis of FIGO staging were performed. Results: A total of 8 studies were included in this meta-analysis, and ctDNA was found to be an independent risk factor for patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (OS: HR = 2.36, 95% CI [1.76,3.17], P < .001; PFS: HR = 2.51, 95% CI [1.83,3.45]). Conclusions: The results of our analysis suggested that ctDNA is a potential biomarker that can be used to evaluate the prognosis of patients with ovarian cancer.

Keywords: circulating tumor DNA; meta-analysis; ovarian cancer; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Articles searching flow chart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Forest plot of the association between ctDNA and OS in patients with Ovarian cancer.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
(A) Forest plot of the association between ctDNA and PFS in patients with Ovarian cancer (before sensitivity analysis). (B) Forest plot of the association between ctDNA and PFS in patients with Ovarian cancer (after sensitivity analysis).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
The sensitivity analysis for ctDNA and PFS in patients with Ovarian cancer.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Funnel plots of publication bias for OS (A) and PFS (B) in patients with Ovarian cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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