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The Diagnostic Accuracy of miR-371a-3p for Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Objective

This study sought to assess the utility of miR-371a-3p levels as a tool for diagnosing testicular germ cell tumors.

Methods

For this systematic review and meta-analysis we reviewed available published studies assessing the accuracy of miR-371a-3p as a tool for diagnosing testicular germ cell tumors. STATA 16.0 was used to calculate pooled sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (NLR), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and area under the curve (AUC) values.

Results

In total, six studies incorporating 1835 individuals were included in this analysis. Pooled results suggested that miR-371a-3p was able to differentiate between testicular germ cell tumors and non-testicular germ cell tumors or healthy individuals with a sensitivity of 0.90 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88–0.92], a specificity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.87–0.96), a PLR of 12.2 (95% CI 6.90–18.24), an NLR of 0.11 (95% CI 0.09–0.14) a diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 121.56 (95% CI 64.84–227.89), and an AUC of 0.94.

Conclusions

MiR-371a-3p represents a viable biomarker associated with testicular germ cell tumors.

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Author notes

  1. Qiangzhao Liu, Qiong Lian and Haidi Lv contributed equally as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Gansu Provincial Hospital, Chengguan District, 204 Donggangxi Road, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Qiangzhao Liu, Haidi Lv, Xiaofeng Zhang & Fenghai Zhou

  2. Department of Radiology, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, 730030, Gansu, People’s Republic of China

    Qiong Lian

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All authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Qiangzhao Liu: Data curation, software, formal analysis, methodology, and writing original draft. Qiong Lian: Data curation, methodology, and writing original draft. Haidi Lv: Data curation and writing-original draft. Xiaofeng Zhang: Writing original draft. Fenghai Zhou: Writing original draft.

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Qiangzhao Liu, Qiong Lian and Haidi Lv contributed equally as the co-first authors of this article.

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Liu, Q., Lian, Q., Lv, H. et al. The Diagnostic Accuracy of miR-371a-3p for Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Mol Diagn Ther 25, 273–281 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40291-021-00521-x

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