Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33747921›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in oncology2021

Volatile Organic Compounds in Human Exhaled Breath to Diagnose Gastrointestinal Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.

Lijuan Xiang, Sihan Wu, Qingling Hua, Chuyang Bao, Hu Liu

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in oncology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

33 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines 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

5 authors.

Lijuan XiangDepartment of Tumor Biotherapy (5th Ward of the Department of Oncology), Anhui Provincial Cancer Hospital, West District of The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Sihan WuDepartment of Tumor Biotherapy (5th Ward of the Department of Oncology), Anhui Provincial Cancer Hospital, West District of The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
Qingling HuaDepartment of Oncology, Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, China.
Chuyang BaoDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Hu LiuDepartment of Tumor Biotherapy (5th Ward of the Department of Oncology), Anhui Provincial Cancer Hospital, West District of The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionHuman exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are being extensively studied for the purposes of noninvasive cancer diagnoses. This article was primarily to assess the feasibility of utilizing exhaled VOCs analysis for gastrointestinal cancer (GIC) diagnosis.

methodsPRISMA-based system searches were conducted for related studies of exhaled VOCs in GIC diagnosis based on predetermined criteria. Relevant articles on colorectal cancer and gastroesophageal cancer were summarized, and meta analysis was performed on articles providing sensitivity and specificity data.

resultsFrom 2,227 articles, 14 were found to meet inclusion criteria, six of which were on colorectal cancer (CRC) and eight on Gastroesophageal cancer(GEC). Five articles could provide specific data of sensitivity and specificity in GEC, which were used for meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated based on the combination of these data, and were 85.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 79.0%-90.0%], 89.0% (95%CI: 86.0%-91.0%), 41.30 (21.56-79.10), and 0.93, respectively.

conclusionVOCs can distinguish gastrointestinal cancers from other gastrointestinal diseases, opening up a new avenue for the diagnosis and identification of gastrointestinal cancers, and the analysis of VOCs in exhaled breath has potential clinical application in screening. VOCs are promising tumor biomarkers for GIC diagnosis. Furthermore, limitations like the heterogeneity of diagnostic VOCs between studies should be minded.

Indexed as

early diagnosisexhaled breathgastrointestinal cancermeta-analysisvolatile organic compounds

Identifiers

PMID33747921
PMCPMC7970758

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.