SynthesisMedicine2017
The diagnostic value of assays for circulating tumor cells in hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Emerging Perspectives of Bone Metastasis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Pooled it
- Single-cell immune signature for detecting early-stage HCC and early assessing anti-PD-1 immunotherapy efficacy.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2022Trial
- Micro/Nanostructured Materials and Microfluidic Diagnostic Platforms Enable Multimodal Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells.Exploration (Beijing, China) · 2026Review
- Liquid Biopsy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: ctDNA as a Potential Biomarker for Diagnosis and Prognosis.Current oncology reports · 2025Review
- Ezrin Polarization as a Diagnostic Marker for Circulating Tumor Cells in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Cells · 2024Article
- Novel biomarkers for monitoring and management of hepatocellular carcinoma.Cancer cell international · 2024Review
- Liquid biopsy in T-cell lymphoma: biomarker detection techniques and clinical application.Molecular cancer · 2024Review
- Management of hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver surgery and thermal ablations: state of the art and future perspectives.Hepatobiliary surgery and nutrition · 2024Review
- [Current Status and Prospects of Liquid Biopsy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma].The Korean journal of gastroenterology = Taehan Sohwagi Hakhoe chi · 2023Review
- Lytic efficiency of immunosuppressive drug-resistant armoured T cells against circulating HBV-related HCC in whole blood.Immunotherapy advances · 2023Article
- Promising Novel Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Diagnostic and Prognostic Insights.Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2023Review
- Comprehensive Genomic Profiling IdentifiesJournal of hepatocellular carcinoma · 2023Article
- Prolonged Survival after Recurrence in HCC Resected Patients Using Repeated Curative Therapies: Never Give Up!Cancers · 2022Article
- Clinical Applications of Liquid Biopsy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Review
- Hepatocellular carcinoma risk-stratification based on ASGR1 in circulating epithelial cells for cancer interception.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2022Article
- HCC biomarkers - state of the old and outlook to future promising biomarkers and their potential in everyday clinical practice.Frontiers in oncology · 2022Review
- Significance of circulating tumor cells in the portal vein regarding metastases and vascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2021Article
- Review
- Finding the seed of recurrence: Hepatocellular carcinoma circulating tumor cells and their potential to drive the surgical treatment.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2021Review
- Liquid Biopsies in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Are We Winning?Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeCirculating tumor cells (CTCs) are considered potential biomarkers for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Many studies have attempted to explore this role, but the results are variable. We conducted the first comprehensive meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of CTC assay for HCC patients. Additional prognostic value was also assessed. EXPERIMENTAL
designAll articles included in our study were assessed using QUADAS guidelines after a literature search. Using bivariate generalized linear mixed model and random-effects model, effect measures such as pooled sensitivity/specificity, positive likelihood ratios/negative likelihood ratios (NLRs), diagnostic odds ratios, hazard ratios (HRs), risk ratios, and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated. We used receiver operating characteristic curves and area under the curve (AUC) to summarize overall test performance. Heterogeneity, publication bias, subgroup, and sensitivity analyses were also performed.
resultsA total of 2256 subjects including 998 HCC patients in 20 studies were recruited in this meta-analysis. Although the overall diagnostic accuracy of the CTC assay was high (AUC 0.93, 95% CI: [0.90-0.95]), there was a high probability of error rate (NLR 0.33, 95% CI: [0.23, 0.48]). The results were more robust when nonmagnetic-activated isolation was used, compared with magnetic-activated isolation subgroup (NLR: 0.18 vs. 0.41; z = 2.118, P = .034). CTCs positivity was significantly associated with relapse-free survival (HR 2.417, 95% CI: [1.421-3.250]; P < .001), overall survival (HR 3.59, 95% CI: [1.984-6.495]; P < .001), and some clinical characteristics.
conclusionCTC assay is not recommended as an independent HCC diagnostic tool, but is associated with poor clinicopathologic characteristics of HCC patients and could indicate poor prognosis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.