Diagnostic value of NPTX2 (neuronal pentraxin II) methylation in
patients with pancreatic cancer: meta-analysis
Abstract
Purpose: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a devasting disease of which
mortality almost parallels its incidence. Pancreatic cancer tissue may
express aberrantly methylated NPTX2, but it is unclear what the
consequences of this are. The purpose of the present study was to assess
the diagnostic performance of methylated NPTX2 in PC diagnosis. Methods:
We conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese
National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Cochrane Library for
published studies from inception to July 15, 2020. Using STATA 13.0,
diagnostic OR (DOR) and AUC (Area Under the Curve of Receiver Operating
Characteristic) were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy.
Results: Nine studies were found eligible for the meta-analysis. The
overall results of DOR and AUC were 11 (95%CI: 4-26) and 0.80,
respectively. These data indicate that aberrantly methylated NPTX2 can
correctly predict PC. Subgroup analysis revealed that quantitative
real-time methylation-specific PCR (QMSP) had the highest diagnostic
value for differentiating pancreatic cancer from chronic pancreatitis
using a laboratory method. Furthermore, the detection of hypermethylated
NPTX2 found in plasma was suggested to be a promising diagnostic
biomarker, though a meta-analysis was not feasible due to the limited
number of samples. The Deeks’ funnel map revealed no obvious public bias
in the literature. Conclusion: aberrantly methylated NPTX2 has high
sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
However, further research is required to validate the use of methylated
NPTX2 as a biomarker in the clinical diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.