Diagnostic Performance of Narrow Band Imaging for Nasopharyngeal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Objective The purposes of this study were to verify the effectiveness of the narrow band imaging (NBI) system in diagnosing nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) as compared with white light endoscopy. Data Sources PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CNKI, and Wan Fang databases. Review Methods Data analyses were performed with Meta-Disc. The updated Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool was used to assess study quality and potential bias. Publication bias was assessed with a Deeks asymmetry test. The registry number of the protocol published on PROSPERO is CRD42015026244. Results This meta-analysis included 10 studies of 1337 lesions. For NBI diagnosis of NPC, the pooled values were as follows: sensitivity, 0.83 (95% CI, 0.80-0.86); specificity, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.89-0.93); positive likelihood ratio, 8.82 (95% CI, 5.12-15.21); negative likelihood ratio, 0.18 (95% CI, 0.12-0.27); and diagnostic odds ratio, 65.73 (95% CI, 36.74-117.60). The area under the curve was 0.9549. For white light endoscopy in diagnosing NPC, the pooled values were as follows: sensitivity, 0.79 (95% CI, 0.75-0.83); specificity, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.84-0.90); positive likelihood ratio, 5.02 (95% CI, 1.99-12.65); negative likelihood ratio, 0.34 (95% CI, 0.24-0.49); and diagnostic odds ratio, 16.89 (95% CI, 5.98-47.66). The area under the curve was 0.8627. The evaluation of heterogeneity, calculated per the diagnostic odds ratio, gave an I of 0.326. No marked publication bias ( P = .68) existed in this meta-analysis. Conclusion The sensitivity and specificity of NBI for the diagnosis of NPC are similar to those of white light endoscopy, and the potential value of NBI for the diagnosis of NPC needs to be validated further.