Background: The lack of an accurate blood biomarker in neuroendocrine tumor (NET) disease has hindered management. The advance of genomic medicine and the development of molecular biomarkers has provided a strategydliquid biopsydto facilitate real-time management. We reviewed the role of a blood mRNA-based NET biomarker, the NETest, as an in vitro diagnostic (IVD).
Patients and methods: A systematic review of the literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was undertaken. The methodological quality was evaluated using the QUADAS2 tool. We identified ten original scientific papers that met the inclusion criteria. These were assessed by qualitative analysis and thereafter meta-analysis. Data were pooled and a median [95% confidence interval (CI)] diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), positive likelihood ratio (þLR), and negative likelihood ratio ( LR) were calculated. For the metaanalysis, a generic inverse variance method was undertaken using the accuracy and area under the curve (AUC) data.
