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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Dec;159(3):615-621.
doi: 10.1002/ijgo.14204. Epub 2022 Apr 25.

Accuracy of cytological examination of Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy

Antonio Raffone  1   2 , Diego Raimondo  1 , Arianna Raspollini  1 , Alessia Oliviero  3 , Antonio Travaglino  4   5 , Angela Santoro  4 , Federica Renzulli  1 , Giovanni Lopez  3 , Carlo Michele Di Maio  3 , Paolo Casadio  1 , Gian Franco Zannoni  4 , Renato Seracchioli  1 , Antonio Mollo  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Accuracy of cytological examination of Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy

Antonio Raffone et al. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Although Tao brush has become one of the most studied and used endometrial cytological samplers, concerns remain about the adequacy of the cytological sample compared with definitive histology. We aimed to assess accuracy of cytological examination from Tao brush sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Seven electronic databases were searched from January 2000 to July 2021 for all studies which allowed assessment of accuracy of Tao brush in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and area under the curve (AUC) on summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve. Five studies with 774 patients were included. In diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling showed pooled sensitivity of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.90-0.98), specificity of 0.92 (95% CI, 0.90-0.94), LR+ of 12.73 (95% CI, 3.94-41.18), LR- of 0.09 (95% CI, 0.05-0.18), DOR of 184.84 (95% CI, 24.37-1401.79), AUC of 0.9757 (standard error: 0.013). In conclusion, cytological examination from Tao brush seems to have a high diagnostic accuracy and might be proposed as both screening and diagnostic tool. However, further studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

Keywords: cancer; carcinoma; diagnosis; endometrium; neoplasia; neoplasm; screening; tumor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Forest plot of sensitivity of cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, as individual studies and pooled estimates
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Forest plot of specificity of cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, as individual studies and pooled estimates
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Forest plot of positive likelihood ratio of cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, as individual studies and pooled estimates
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Forest plot of negative likelihood ratio of cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, as individual studies and pooled estimates
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Forest plot of diagnostic odds ratio of cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, as individual studies and pooled estimates
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Forest plot of area under the curve (AUC) on summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves of cytological examination from Tao brush endometrial sampling in diagnosing endometrial premalignancy and malignancy, as individual studies and pooled estimates
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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