Circulating MicroRNA-122 for the Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Circulating microRNA-122 (miR-122) has been recognized as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The current meta-analysis was performed to quantitatively evaluate the diagnostic performance of circulating miR-122 for HCC. METHODS: Related studies that evaluated the diagnostic performance of circulating miR-122 determined from pathophysiological examination for HCC were obtained by systematic searches of the PubMed and Embase databases. A randomized fixed effects model was applied according to the heterogeneity among studies. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy. Publication bias was detected by Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry test. RESULTS: Thirteen studies providing data for 920 HCC patients and 1217 controls were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivities, specificities, and AUCs of serum miR-122 were 0.76, 0.75, and 0.82, respectively, for discriminating HCC patients from overall controls; 0.85, 0.83, and 0.91, respectively, for discriminating HCC patients from healthy controls; 0.79, 0.82, and 0.87, respectively, for discriminating HCC from HBV or HCV infection; and 0.65, 0.75, and 0.74, respectively, for discriminating HCC from liver cirrhosis or dysplastic nodule formation. No significant publication bias was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Serum miR-122 confers moderate efficacy for discriminating HCC patients from healthy controls or patients with HBV or HCV infection, but not for discriminating HCC patients from those with liver cirrhosis or dysplastic nodule formation.