Detection of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in peripheral blood circulating tumor DNA in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis and systematic review.

Background: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status related to the treatment approach for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of peripheral blood circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in EGFR mutated advanced NSCLC patients.

Method: The related database was systematically searched with keywords until January 19, 2020. Studies contained the histopathological and cytological advanced NSCLC samples were included, and the diagnostic data were recorded for calculating sensitivity and specificity. I statistics were used for detecting heterogeneity across studies, and the meta-regression was performed to seek the source of heterogeneity.

Result: A total of 32 studies with 4527 advanced NSCLC patients were included in our meta-analysis. Among them, 87% of the patients were diagnosed as stage IV. The pooled sensitivity of peripheral blood ctDNA was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.63-0.75, I = 81.76) and the pooled specificity was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96-0.99, I = 88.33). The meta-regression showed that the prospective study design and the ARMS detection method were the main source of heterogeneity for sensitivity (P < .05), and the publication country (Asia or non-Asia) was the main source of heterogeneity for specificity (P < .01).

Conclusion: ctDNA biopsy has high specificity and diagnostic accuracy in detection of EGFR mutation in advanced NSCLC patients. When the ctDNA gene test result is negative, we should fully consider the risk of missed diagnosis, and further tissue biopsy is still needed to undertake.