Clinical application of serum Mac-2-binding protein glycosylation isomer in the diagnosis of liver fibrosis: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Mac-2-binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) is associated with the diagnosis of liver fibrosis among different stages (F1-F4). The diagnostic performance of M2BPGi has been evaluated for predicting fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases. However, the lack of a unified cutoff value leads to confusion in clinical applications, and a meta-analysis is urgently needed to integrate the data. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, the WHO Clinical Trials Registry, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ScienceDirect for relevant studies published through March 31, 2024. Methodological quality was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. The meta-analysis was performed using a linear mixed-effects model to assess the pooled cutoff points. RESULTS: M2BPGi achieved a pooled sensitivity of 72.4% (95% CI: 63.2%-80.0%), a pooled specificity of 72.9% (95% CI: 66.8%-78.2%), and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.7238. The optimal cutoff value for M2BPGi was 1.307. In addition, the Youden index peaked at 0.75-0.80, indicating the best balance between sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSIONS: M2BPGi serves as an early, noninvasive marker for predicting adverse outcomes and fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease.