Accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound in the diagnosis of distal and celiac axis lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Background: Published data on the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for staging distant and celiac axis lymph node (CLN) metastasis in patients with esophageal cancer (ECA) has varied.

Aim: To evaluate the accuracy of EUS in diagnosing distal and CLN metastasis in ECA patients.

Study Selection: EUS studies confirmed by surgery were selected.

Statistical Method: Pooling was conducted by both fixed and random-effects models.

Results: Data were extracted from 25 studies (N = 2029) which met the inclusion criteria. In ECA patients, pooled sensitivity of EUS was 67.2% (95% CI: 62.6-71.6) in diagnosis of distal metastasis and 66.6% (95% CI: 61.9-71.1) in diagnosis of CLN metastasis. EUS had a pooled specificity of 97.9% (95% CI: 97.1-98.6) for distal metastasis and 98.1% (95% CI: 97.3-98.7) for CLN metastasis.

Conclusions: Although EUS has excellent specificity in accurately diagnosing distal and CLN metastasis in patients with ECA, the sensitivity is low.