Diagnostic value of circulating microRNAs for liver cirrhosis: a meta-analysis

Circulating microRNAs are potential biomarkers for various diseases including liver cirrhosis. We designed a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of circulating microRNAs for liver cirrhosis patients. Eligible studies were identified by searching PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library up to July 1, 2017. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve were analyzed using a random or fixed effects models based on the between-study heterogeneities. Thirteen studies from 7 articles with 627 patients and 418 healthy controls were included in this meta-analysis. All studies had high quality assessment scores. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR and AUROC were 0.83 (95% CI: 0.80–0.86), 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86–0.92), 6.41 (95% CI: 3.93–10.44), 0.22 (95% CI: 0.14–0.33), 35.18 (95% CI: 15.90–77.81) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.91–0.95), respectively. In conclusion, circulating microRNAs may serve as potential noninvasive biomarkers of liver cirrhosis.