Diagnostic value of serum Golgi protein 73 for liver fibrosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The assessment of liver fibrosis has been a critical component in the clinical management of liver diseases. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate serum Golgi protein 73 (GP73) in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis.

METHODS: A literature search was performed in eight databases until July 13, 2022. We searched strictly studies according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and than assessed quality. We pooled the sensitivity, specificity and other diagnostic estimates of serum GP73 to assess liver fibrosis. Moreover, publication bias, threshold analysis, sensitivity analysis, meta-regression, subgroup analysis and post-test probability were evaluated.

RESULTS: Our research integrated 16 articles including 3676 patients. Potential publication bias and threshold effect were not found. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of the summary receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.63, 0.79 and 0.818 for significant fibrosis; 0.77, 0.76 and 0.852 for advanced fibrosis; and 0.80, 0.76 and 0.894 for cirrhosis, respectively. The aetiology was one of important sources of heterogeneity.

CONCLUSION: Serum GP73 was a feasible diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis, which is of great significance for the clinical management of liver diseases.