Study Selection and Data Extraction

Two reviewers independently screened the titles, abstracts, and full texts of selected articles. Eligible studies included in this meta-analysis were complied with the following criteria: related to the diagnostic value of miRNAs for CRC; gold standard for CRC detection was specified; offered sufficient data to calculate estimates of true positives/false positives and false/true negatives that were used to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and sample size. Exclusion criteria were set as follows: publications that were unrelated to the diagnostic value of miRNAs for CRC; studies with duplicated or incomplete data; letters, editorials, commentaries, reviews, or case reports; studies that were not conducted on humans.

Two independent reviewers extracted the following data from eligible studies: the first author, publication year, country, ethnicity, sample size of the case/control group, tumor stages, miRNA profiling, specimen sources, and relevant data for meta-analysis (sensitivity and specificity).