Ten studies were included (752 lung cancer patients and 635 healthy controls). Three studies were prospective. Three studies enrolled consecutive or random cases. Two studies reported blinded interpretation of the quantitative analysis of the DNA. QUADAS scores ranged from 4 to 12 out of 14.
Sensitivity ranged from 48% to 91% with a pooled value of 80% (95% CI 77% to 83%).
Specificity ranged from 47% to 100% with a pooled value of 77% (95% CI 74% to 80%).
There was substantial heterogeneity for both measures of accuracy (p<0.001). None of the quality features investigated (summary scores or additional quality items) were significantly associated with accuracy in the meta-regression analysis.