Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31894424›Full record

SynthesisClinical and experimental medicine2020

Diagnostic value of seven biomarkers for breast cancer: an overview with evidence mapping and indirect comparisons of diagnostic test accuracy.

Ya Gao, Ming Liu, Shuzhen Shi, Yue Sun, Muyang Li, Mei Zhang, Zhijuan Sheng, Junhua Zhang, Jinhui Tian, Cancer Biomarker Assessment Working Group

Abstract readComparative StudySystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Clinical and experimental medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 45% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. FTOZhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2025
    Article
  3. EBCC-13 manifesto: Balancing pros and cons for contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) · 2023
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Ya Gao *Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Ming Liu *Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Shuzhen ShiEvidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Yue SunEvidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Muyang LiThe Second Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.
Mei ZhangDepartment of Radiology, Gansu Provincial Cancer Hospital, Lanzhou, China.
Zhijuan ShengDepartment of Galactophore, Gansu Provincial Cancer Hospital, Lanzhou, China.
Junhua ZhangEvidence-Based Medicine Center, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 312 Anshanxi Street, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China. zjhtcm@foxmail.com.
Jinhui TianEvidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China. tianjh@lzu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0054-2454
Cancer Biomarker Assessment Working Group
Lanzhou University · CNGansu Provincial Hospital · CNTianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine · CNLanzhou University Second Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Several meta-analyses have evaluated the value of biomarkers in diagnosing breast cancer, but which biomarker has the optimal diagnostic value remains unclear. This overview aimed to compare the accuracy of different biomarkers in diagnosing breast cancer. PubMed, Embase.com, the Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, and Web of Science were searched. The assessment of multiple systematic reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2) was used to assess the methodological quality and preferred reporting items for a systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy (PRISMA-DTA) for reporting quality. Pairwise meta-analyses were performed to estimate the pooled results for each biomarker, and indirect comparisons were conducted to compare diagnostic accuracy between biomarkers. Eleven systematic reviews (SRs) involving 218 original studies were included. All SRs were of critically low methodological quality, 3 SRs had minimal reporting flaws and 8 SRs had minor flaws. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.77 and 0.87 for miRNA, 0.70 and 0.87 for circulating cell-free DNA, 0.29 and 0.96 for APC gene promoter methylation, 0.69 and 0.99 for 14-3-3σ promoter methylation, 0.63 and 0.82 for CA153, 0.58 and 0.87 for CEA, and 0.73 and 0.56 for PSA. Compared with CA153 and PSA, miRNA had a higher sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity of miRNA was higher than circulating cell-free DNA and CEA, although they had the same specificities. APC gene promoter methylation and 14-3-3σ promoter methylation were more specific than miRNA, but they had unacceptably low sensitivity. In conclusion, miRNA had better diagnostic accuracy than the other six biomarkers. But due to the low quality of included SRs, the results need to be interpreted with caution. Further study should investigate the diagnostic accuracy of different biomarkers in direct comparisons and focus on the value of combined biomarkers.

Indexed as

14-3-3 ProteinsAdenomatous Polyposis Coli ProteinAntigens, NeoplasmBiomarkers, TumorBreast NeoplasmsCarcinoembryonic AntigenCell-Free Nucleic AcidsDNA MethylationExoribonucleasesFemaleHumansMicroRNAsPromoter Regions, GeneticSensitivity and Specificity14-3-3 ProteinsAdenomatous Polyposis Coli ProteinAntigens, NeoplasmAPC protein, humanBiomarkers, TumorCA153 protein, humanCarcinoembryonic AntigenCell-Free Nucleic AcidsExoribonucleasesMicroRNAsSFN protein, humanBiomarkerBreast cancerDiagnostic test accuracyIndirect comparisonOverview

Identifiers

PMID31894424
OpenAlexW2997521642

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.