Diagnosis of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma by Raman spectroscopy provides high efficiency: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: We aim to evaluate the efficiency of Raman spectroscopy (RS) in diagnosing suspected patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), manifested by diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. METHODS: We will research widely the articles concerning the use of RS in ICC through authenticated database including PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, Ovid, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane Library, and CNKI between January 2012 and November 2020, retrieving at least 1500 spectra with strict criteria. This study will be carried out in accordance to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We are going to summarize the test performance using random effects models. RESULTS: Based on the pooled sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy, we intend to provide the relative diagnostic efficiency in ICC through RS. CONCLUSION: Through this systematic review and meta-analysis, we intend to provide the pooled sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of RS in the diagnosis of suspected ICC. Other parameters like positive likelihood ratios (LR), negative LR, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curve will also be calculated and related figures will be drawn to help illustrate the efficacy of RS in the diagnosis of ICC.