Endometrial Cytology in Diagnosis of Endometrial Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy

Background: Because the incidence of endometrial cancer has been increasing every year, it is important to identify an effective screening method for it. The endometrial cytology test (ECT) is considered to be the more acceptable technique compared to invasive endometrial sampling.

Methods: The study followed the Priority Reporting Project for Systematic Evaluation and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA-DTA) protocol. This systematic rating searched EMBASE and Web of Science databases for studies on ECT for endometrial cancer from the databases' dates of inception to 30 September 2022. All literature screening and data extraction were performed by two researchers, while the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed against defined inclusion criteria. And a third researcher resolves the disagreements.

Results: Twenty-six studies were eventually included in this final analysis. Meta-analysis results showed that the diagnostic accuracy characteristics of ECT for endometrial cancer were as follows: combined sensitivity = 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI) (0.83-0.86)], combined specificity = 0.98 [95% CI (0.98-0.98)], combined positive likelihood ratio = 34.65 [95% CI (20.90-57.45)], combined negative likelihood ratio = 0.21 [95% CI (0.15-0.30)], and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.9673.

Conclusions: ECT had the ability to detect endometrial cancer with strong specificity, although some studies have demonstrated significant differences in sensitivity.