Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33121490›Full record

ArticleRespiratory research2020

Auxiliary diagnostic value of tumor biomarkers in pleural fluid for lung cancer-associated malignant pleural effusion.

Hai Zhang, Changhui Li, Fang Hu, Xueyan Zhang, Yinchen Shen, Yuqing Chen, Feng Li

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Respiratory research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.9field-weighted citation impact, top 11% 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

17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Biomarkers Suitable for Early Detection of Intrathoracic Cancers in Primary Care: A Systematic Review.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025
    Pooled it
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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

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hai ZhangDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Changhui LiDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Fang HuDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Xueyan ZhangDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Yinchen ShenDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Yuqing ChenDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
Feng LiDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, NO. 241, West Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China. lifeng741@aliyun.com.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University · CNShanghai Chest Hospital · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPleural effusion (PE) can be divided into benign pleural effusion (BPE) and malignant pleural effusion (MPE). There is no consensus on the identification of lung cancer-associated MPE using the optimal cut-off levels from five common tumor biomarkers (CEA, CYFRA 21-1, CA125, SCC-Ag, and NSE). Therefore, we aimed to find indicators for the auxiliary diagnosis of lung cancer-associated MPE by analyzing and then validating the optimal threshold levels of these biomarkers in pleural fluid (PF) and serum, as well as the PF/serum ratio. PATIENTS AND

methodThe study has two sets of patients, i.e. the training set and the test set. In the training set, 348 patients with PE, between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2017, were divided into BPE and MPE based on the cytological diagnosis. Subsequently, the optimal cut-off levels of tumor biomarkers were analyzed. In the test set, the diagnostic compliance rate was verified with 271 patients with PE from January 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019 to evaluate the auxiliary diagnostic value of the aforementioned indicators.

resultIn the training set, PF CEA at the cut-off value of 5.23 ng/ml was the most effective indicator for MPE compared with other tumor biomarkers (all p < 0.001). In the test set, PF CEA at the cut-off value of 5.23 ng/ml showed the highest sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, positive and negative predictive value among other tumor biomarkers, which were 99.0%, 69.1%, 91.6%, 90.7%, and 95.9%, respectively.

conclusionPF CEA at the cut-off level of 5.23 ng/ml was the most effective indicator for identifying lung cancer-associated MPE among the five common tumor biomarkers.

Indexed as

AgedBiomarkers, TumorFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansLung NeoplasmsMaleMiddle AgedPleural CavityPleural Effusion, MalignantRetrospective StudiesBiomarkers, TumorCEALung cancerPleural effusionSerumTumor markers

Identifiers

PMID33121490
PMCPMC7596935
OpenAlexW3096592024

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LicenceCC BY
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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.