A PRISMA meta-analysis for diagnostic value of microRNA-21 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma along with bioinformatics research

Objectives The use of miR-21 expression remains vague in diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This study aimed to systematically evaluate the diagnostic potential of the miR-21 expression in patients with HNSCCs through investigating and summarizing the results reported in the literature. Methods Extant medical databases were examined for articles of clinical study assessing the miR-21 expression in HNSCC cases, published in the past 20 years. Bioinformatics research was also performed for finding miR-21 targets differentially expressed in HNSCC so as to present their biological behaviors. Results Our meta-analysis comprised 11 studies including 622/450 cases in HNSCC/control group. Forest plots displayed miR-21 which possessed significantly good specificity (0.76, p