Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Endometrial Cancer – A Systematic Review and Quality Assessment of Meta-Analyses

Abstract Objective To assess the quality of recent meta-analyses reviewing the diagnostic utility of sentinel node biopsy in endometrial cancer. Methods With the MeSH terms endometrial neoplasms and sentinel lymph node biopsy, PubMed and Embase databases were searched on October 21, 2020, and again on November 10, 2021, with meta-analysis and publication date filters set to since 2015. The articles included were classified with the A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR 2) assessment tool. Results The database searches found 17, 7 of which, after the screening, were selected for full review by the author, finally extracting six meta-analyzes for quality analysis. The rating with the AMSTAR 2 assessment tool found that overall confidence in their results was critically low. Conclusion This study found that the quality of recent meta-analyses on the utility of the staging of endometrial cancer with sentinel node biopsy, evaluated by the AMSTAR 2 assessment tool, is classified as critically low, and, therefore, these meta-analyses are not reliable in the summary of their studies.

摘要
研究目的：评估近期针对子宫内膜癌前哨淋巴结活检（sentinel node biopsy）诊断价值的Meta分析的质量。
研究方法：以医学主题词（MeSH）子宫内膜肿瘤（endometrial neoplasms）与前哨淋巴结活检为检索词，于2020年10月21日及2021年11月10日分别检索PubMed及Embase数据库，设置筛选条件为仅纳入2015年以来发表的Meta分析类文献。纳入文献采用系统评价质量评价工具2（AMSTAR 2）进行质量评价。
研究结果：数据库检索共获得17篇文献，经筛选后由作者对其中7篇进行全文审阅，最终纳入6篇Meta分析用于质量分析。采用AMSTAR 2工具评价后发现，上述研究结果的整体可信度极低。
研究结论：本研究通过AMSTAR 2工具评价发现，近期针对子宫内膜癌分期中前哨淋巴结活检应用价值的Meta分析质量整体被评为极低可信度，因此此类Meta分析的研究结果总结并不具备可靠性。