Diagnostic value of soluble mesothelin-related peptides in pleural effusion for malignant pleural mesothelioma: An updated meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Soluble mesothelin-related peptide (SMRP) is a widely studied tumor marker for diagnosing malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). This study discussed the diagnostic value of SMRPs in pleural effusion (PE) for MPM. METHODS: Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane library system were systematically searched on the data of SMRPs in PE for MPM diagnosis. Pooled diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and symmetric receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated. RESULTS: Thirteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and a total of 3359 cases including 759 MPM cases, 1061 non-MM (malignant mesothelioma) malignant PE, and 1539 benign PE were brought into this meta-analysis. The pooled results of SMRPs in PE for diagnosing MPM were as follows: sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.68 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64–0.72), 0.91 (95% CI: 0.86–0.94), 7.8 (95% CI: 5.0–12.0), 0.35 (95% CI: 0.31–0.40), and 22 (95% CI: 14–35), respectively. The area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) was 0.75 (95% CI: 0.72–0.80). Subgroup analyzes revealed that the AUC of cohort group using histological diagnosis could be improved to 0.86 (95% CI: 0.83, 0.89). The Deek's funnel plot asymmetry test showed no publication bias. CONCLUSION: Although the sensitivity of SMRPs was low, PE-SMRPs can be a good indicator of the existence of MPM.