Salivary noncoding RNA in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer: Systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

Background Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the most deadly malignancies, primarily because of its diagnostic challenges. We performed a systematic review and diagnostic meta‐analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of noncoding salivary RNAs in pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Methods Our investigation involved pertinent studies published in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LIVIVO, Ovid and also the Google Scholar search engine. Specificity and sensitivity were calculated, as were positive and negative likelihood ratios (PLR and NLR), and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). The summary receiver‐operating characteristics and area under the curve were plotted and assessed. Results This meta‐analysis and systematic review involved and examined five studies that contained 145 study units with a total of 2731 subjects (1465 pancreatic cancer patients versus 1266 noncancer controls). The pooled specificity, sensitivity, NLR, PLR and DOR were 0.783 (95% CI: 0.759–0.805), 0.829 (95% CI: 0.809–0.848), 0.309 (95% CI: 0.279–0.343), 3.386 (95% CI: 2.956–3.879) and 18.403 (95% CI: 14.753–22.954), respectively, with the area under the curve (AUC) equal to 0.882. Subgroup analyses were conducted based on the saliva type (unstimulated and stimulated), mean age of patients, sample size, type of control, serum carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (CA19‐9) level and type of salivary noncoding RNA (microRNA (miRNA) and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)). Conclusions The results of our systematic review and meta‐analysis suggest that noncoding RNA biomarkers in the stimulated saliva could be a promising approach for accurate pancreatic cancer diagnosis in the early stages.

LncRNA-MUF: A Novel Oncogenic Star with Potential as a Biological Marker and Therapeutic Target for Gastrointestinal Malignancies

“…Moreover, there is a need for further investigation into the expression of LINC00941 in fluid tissues, such as serum, and its potential as a prognostic and diagnostic marker in gastrointestinal tumors. Non-coding RNAs in fluid tissues have shown promise as tumor markers and diagnostic indicators [56][57][58]. It is of great significance to explore the expression level of LINC00941 in liquid tissues and its correlation with the prognosis and diagnosis of patients with gastrointestinal tumors.…”

Early Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer: Clinical Premonitions, Timely Precursor Detection and Increased Curative-Intent Surgery

“…The attractive principle for most biomarkers for early detection would be a test that is a non-invasive, repeatable test which would allow for early detection of resectable PDAC with potential for cure, or better, prevention by operation of high-grade dysplasia not yet transformed into invasive cancer. 36 Some tests have been proposed for use by sampling saliva 59 , 78 - 81 or urine 52 , 61 , 82 - 85 for detection of pancreatic cancer. However, these technologies and their accuracy needs further refinement before being introduced as useful clinical tests.…”

“…Biomarkers have yet to make an impact on early diagnosis for pancreatic cancer, even if there is no lack of suggested candidate markers in the available literature. [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] The Alliance of Pancreatic Cancer Consortia for Biomarkers for Early Detection provided a common platform, listed the resources necessary for validation and, named the available markers felt to be promising for further pursuit. 63 None of the biomarkers were ready for a large-scale trial for biomarker validation.…”

The Expanding Roles of Long Non‐Coding RNAs in Pancreatic Cancer

“…The odds ratio for diagnosing pancreatic cancer in its early stages is much higher than in advanced cases, and the diagnostic value of salivary non‐coding RNA increased in older patients. [ 62 ] The plasma level of lncRNA ABHD11‐AS1 is reportedly a more precise biomarker for early pancreatic cancer diagnosis than the commonly used tumor markers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA199, or carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125). Moreover, the combination of ABHD11‐AS1 and CA199 exhibited excellent performance in discriminating early pancreatic cancer patients from healthy controls.…”