Diagnostic accuracy of Raman spectroscopy in malignant and benign colorectal lesions: a meta-analysis

Objective: Raman spectroscopy (RAS) is a novel non-invasive diagnostic method for colorectal cancer. This work aims to systematically analyze the rapid diagnosis of RAS in contrast with biopsy in patients with colorectal lesions. Methods: We searched a wide range of databases for all relevant data that assessed the diagnostic accuracy of RAS in detecting colorectal lesions with no language and time limitations. The pooled weighted estimates of sensitivity, specificity and related indicators were calculated by Meta-Disc Version 1.4 and STATA 12.0. The quality of included studies was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies checklist 2. The Deeks’ funnel plot asymmetry test was performed to evaluate publication bias. Results: The search strategy produced 113 hits after duplicates removal in which 14 articles were reviewed in this meta-analysis. A total of 1274 patients and 1660 lesions were assessed. Pooled weighted estimates of sensitivity and specificity of RAS in diagnosing colorectal cancer were 0.87 (95% CI, 0.86-0.89) and 0.89 (95% CI, 0.88-0.90), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio and the negative likelihood ratio were 6.72 (95% CI, 4.72-9.58), and 0.14 (95% CI, 0.09-0.20), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio and overall area under the curve of RAS in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer were 66.42 (95% CI, 32.90-134.08) and 0.9578. There was no significant publication bias (P=0.34). Conclusions: RAS has considerable sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of colorectal lesions. RAS is a promising, reliable and non-invasive method for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant colorectal lesions.