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Copyright: ©Author(s) 2027. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2027; 33(1): 123989
Published online Jan 7, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.123989
Artificial intelligence for imaging-based detection of gallbladder cancer: A systematic review and diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis
Jia-Yun Zhu, Hao Lin, Jing-Wei Zhao, Zi-Yi Yang
Jia-Yun Zhu, Jing-Wei Zhao, Zi-Yi Yang, Department of General Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China
Jia-Yun Zhu, Jing-Wei Zhao, Zi-Yi Yang, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Biliary Tract Disease Research, Shanghai 200092, China
Jia-Yun Zhu, Jing-Wei Zhao, Zi-Yi Yang, Shanghai Research Center of Biliary Tract Disease, Shanghai 200092, China
Jia-Yun Zhu, Jing-Wei Zhao, Zi-Yi Yang, Biliary Disease Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China
Hao Lin, College of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 201318, China
Co-first authors: Jia-Yun Zhu and Hao Lin.
Co-corresponding authors: Jing-Wei Zhao and Zi-Yi Yang.
Author contributions: Zhu JY and Lin H collected and organized the data and drafted the manuscript, they contributed equally to this article, they are the co-first authors of this manuscript; Zhao JW and Yang ZY reviewed and revised the manuscript; they contributed equally to this article, they are the co-corresponding authors of this manuscript; and all authors thoroughly reviewed and endorsed the final manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The authors used Grammarly and GPT for language polishing and grammar checking during the preparation of this manuscript. All authors have reviewed and edited the content and take full responsibility for the final version of the manuscript.
Supported by the Interdisciplinary Program of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, No. YG2024QNA19.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Zi-Yi Yang, MD, Department of General Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 1665 Kongjiang Road, Shanghai 200092, China. yangziyi@xinhuamed.com.cn
Received: June 4, 2026
Revised: June 29, 2026
Accepted: September 9, 2026
Published online: January 7, 2027
Processing time: 159 Days and 15.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Early diagnosis of gallbladder cancer remains challenging because malignant lesions often mimic benign gallbladder diseases. This study provides the first diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis focused exclusively on patient-level validation evidence for artificial intelligence-based imaging diagnosis of gallbladder cancer. By separating clinical validation cohorts from image-level development studies, we found that only five datasets were suitable for quantitative synthesis despite 32 eligible publications. Artificial intelligence-assisted imaging achieved high diagnostic performance and may serve as an effective adjunct for lesion triage and radiological decision support, although robust prospective multicenter validation is still required before routine clinical implementation.

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