Abnormally expressed circular RNAs as novel non-invasive biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma: A meta-analysis

Figure 1 Study flow diagram for the diagnostic and prognostic meta-analyses.

Figure 2 Study quality regarding the risk of bias and applicability concerns as assessed by the QUADAS II tool.

Figure 3 Overall diagnostic performance. A-D: Forest plots of the combined (A) sensitivity, (B) specificity, (C) diagnostic odds ratio, and (D) area under the curves among the eight diagnostic studies.

Figure 4 The outlier in the pooled prognostic effects of down-regulated circular RNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma. A and B: Forest plots of the combined hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the (A) up-regulated and (B) down-regulated circular RNA profiles in predicting the overall survival of hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

Figure 5 Sensitivity analysis of the outlier data. A: Diagnostic studies; B: Down-regulated; and C: Up-regulated circular RNA profiles in predicting the overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Figure 6 Publication bias judged by the Deek’s funnel plot for the diagnostic meta-analysis. A-C: Begg’s test for the down-regulated and up-regulated circular RNA (circRNA) signatures in predicting the overall survival in hepatocellular carcinoma; D: The trim and fill method performed to assess the possible effects of bias on the overall pooled effects of the up-regulated circRNA signature. The hollow circles in squares indicate the imputed studies.