Abstract
Objective Systematic review and meta-analysis of the performance of screening measures for oral cancer and precancer.
Data sources PubMed (Medline), SCISEARCH and the Cochrane Library up to December 2000, hand-searching of relevant journals, and discussions with relevant authors.
Study selection Prospective field studies which related specifically to validation of oral cancer or precancer screening using at least a ‘soft’ gold-standard. Studies estimating parameters of screening performance, response to screening invitation and compliance in follow-up.
Data extraction and synthesis Global estimates for sensitivity and specificity were obtained from the selected studies using the summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve meta-analytical technique.
Results Six studies were included, and weighted pooled averages for sensitivity, specificity and likelihood ratios were calculated (See Table 1).
Conclusions There was considerable heterogeneity with respect to location, population and screening personnel in the studies but this had only a moderate effect on sensitivity and specificity. The discriminatory ability demonstrated by the screening personnel, irrespective of their grade and training, was generally of a fairly high order.
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Moher, D, Cook, DJ, Eastwood, S, Olkin, I, Rennie, D and Stroup, DF Improving the quality of reports of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials: the QUOROM statement. Lancet 1999) 354: 1896–1899.
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Address for reprints: Dr DR Moles, Department of Oral Pathology, Eastman Dental Institute for Oral Health Care Sciences, University College London, 256 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8LD, UK. E-mail: d.moles@eastman.ucl.ac.uk
Moles DR, Downer MC, Speight PM. Meta-analysis of measures of performance reported in oral cancer and precancer screening studies. Br Dent J 2002; 192:340–344
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Farsai, P., Henshaw, M. Oral cancer and precancer screening studies have high discriminatory ability. Evid Based Dent 3, 79–80 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6400136
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6400136