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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jul;36(7):e24496.
doi: 10.1002/jcla.24496. Epub 2022 May 20.

Diagnostic and prognostic value of circRNAs expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A meta-analysis

Huajun Feng  1 , Dingting Wang  1 , Jinping Liu  1 , Longfei Zou  2 , Shengen Xu  1 , Zhuoping Liang  1 , Gang Qin  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Diagnostic and prognostic value of circRNAs expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A meta-analysis

Huajun Feng et al. J Clin Lab Anal. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been found to have potential biological applications against tumors in humans. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic, prognostic, and clinicopathological value of circRNAs in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods: The PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were comprehensively searched for the relevant studies before October 20, 2021. Statistical analysis was performed based on STATA 15.0, Meta-DiSc 1.4, and RevMan 5.3 software.

Results: A total of 55 reports regarding 56 kinds of circRNA were studied in this meta-analysis, including 23, 38, and 26 articles on diagnosis, prognosis, and clinicopathological features, respectively. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver-operating characteristic curve (SROC) were 0.78, 0.84, and 0.87, respectively. Besides, the upregulation of oncogenic circRNAs was significantly associated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR=2.25, p < 0.05) and disease-free interval (DFS) (HR=1.92, p < 0.05). In contrast, the elevated expression of tumor suppressor circRNAs was associated with a favorable prognosis (HR=0.50, p < 0.05). In addition, the high expression of oncogenic circRNAs was associated with the tumor size (OR=3.59, p < 0.05), degree of differentiation (OR=1.89, p < 0.05), TNM stage (OR=2.35, p < 0.05), lymph node metastasis (OR=1.85, p < 0.05), and distant metastasis (OR=3.42, p < 0.05). Moreover, the expression of tumor suppressor circRNAs was associated with improved clinicopathological features (lymph node metastasis: OR=0.25, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: CircRNAs could serve as potential predictive indicators and be useful for the diagnosis, prognosis, and identification of clinicopathological features in HNSCC.

Keywords: biomarker; circular RNA; diagnosis; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The flow chart of the research selection process
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Forest plots of sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC for diagnosis of circRNAs in HNSCC among 31 studies. (A) Sensitivity and specificity; (B) PLR and NLR; (C) DOR; (D) AUC (SROC curve)
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Assessment of the diagnostic accuracy of circRNAs in HNSCC. (A) Sensitivity analysis; (B) meta‐regression analysis; (C) bivariate boxplot; (D) Deek’s funnel plot
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Forest plots and sensitivity analysis of the association between the expression of circRNAs and the prognosis of patients with HNSCC. (A) Forest plots for OS; (B) sensitivity analysis for OS; (C) forest plots for DFS; (D) sensitivity analysis for DFS
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Publication bias of the association between the expression of circRNAs and the prognosis of patients with HNSCC. (A) Begg’s funnel plot for OS; (B) Egger's test plot for OS; (C) Begg’s funnel plot for DFS; (D) Egger’s test plot for DFS
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