Raman spectroscopy could be applied to distinguish tumor from normal tissues. This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the accuracy of Raman spectroscopy in differentiating brain tumor from normal brain tissue. PubMed and Embase were searched to identify suitable studies prior to Jan 1st, 2016. We estimated the pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and constructed summary receiver operating characteristics (SROC) curves to identity the accuracy of Raman spectroscopy in differentiating brain tumor from normal brain tissue. A total of six studies with 1951 spectra were included. For glioma, the pooled sensitivity and specificity of Raman spectroscopy were 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.97) and 0.99 (95% CI 0.98-0.99), respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.9831. For meningioma, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 0.98 (95% CI 0.94-1.00) and 1.00 (95% CI 0.98-1.00), respectively. The AUC was 0.9955. This meta-analysis suggested that Raman spectroscopy could be an effective and accurate tool for differentiating glioma and meningioma from normal brain tissue, which would help us both avoid removal of normal tissue and minimize the volume of residual tumor.
Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; brain tumors; diagnosis; meta-analysis.