Diagnostic Performances of 99mTc-Methoxy Isobutyl Isonitrile Scan in Predicting the Malignancy of Lung Lesions: A Meta-Analysis

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the value of technetium-99m methoxy isobutyl isonitrile ((99m)Tc-MIBI) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in differentiating malignant from benign lung lesions. The PubMed and Embase databases were comprehensively searched for relevant articles that evaluated lung lesions suspicious for malignancy. Two reviewers independently extracted the data on study characteristics and examination results, and assessed the quality of each selected study. The data extracted from the eligible studies were assessed by heterogeneity and threshold effect tests. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and areas under the summary receiver-operating characteristic curves (SROC) were also calculated. Fourteen studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio, and DOR of (99m)Tc-MIBI scan in detecting malignant lung lesions were 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.81, 0.87), 0.83 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.88), 4.22 (95% CI: 2.53, 7.04), 0.20 (95% CI: 0.12, 0.31), and 25.71 (95% CI: 10.67, 61.96), respectively. The area under the SROC was 0.9062. Meta-regression analysis showed that the accuracy estimates were significantly influenced by ethnic groups (P < 0.01), but not by image analysis methods, mean lesion size, or year of publication. Deek funnel plot asymmetry test for the overall analysis did not raise suspicion of publication bias (P = 0.50). Our results indicated that (99m)Tc-MIBI scan is a promising diagnostic modality in predicting the malignancy of lung lesions.