Meta-Analysis on the Diagnostic Value of Telomerase Activity Detection for Malignant Pleural Effusion

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of the telomerase assay with ELISA-based TRAP in malignant pleural effusion(MPE).Methods We searched the literatures of researches about the detection of telomerase activity with ELISA-based TRAP assay and its relationship with malignant pleural effusion(MPE)published in recent ten years,and systematically evaluated both English and Chinese literatures.A combination of Meta-DiSc statistical soft ware and Meta analysis random effective model was applied to comprehensive quantitative analysis.We discussed the overall diagnosis features of this assay by drawing characteristic curves.Results According to selecting standards,18 independent studies were finally selected in this meta analysis.Calculated with random effective model,comprehensive OR was 57.52(95%CI:31.50～105.05),comprehensive sensitivity was 0.84(95% CI:0.81～0.87),specificity was 0.92(95%CI:0.89～The 0.93),average value of maximum intersection point of sensitivity and specificity was 0.9087,AUC was 0.9628,combined PLR was 9.15(95%CI:6.53～12.82),and NLR was 0.18(95%CI:0.12～0.26)0.1.The characteristic curves of the examination showed that detection of telomerase activity with ELISA-based TRAP assay has relatively high efficacy in determining and diagnosing MPE.Conclusions The detection of telomerase activity with ELISA-based TRAP assay can be used as an important index to screen MPE or identify pleural effusion.However,due to its pseudo-negative possibility,it is not enough to be used as a single method to diagnose MPE.