Table 1.
Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis
| Author (reference) | Year | Country | Study type | Multi-center study | Metastatic site | Number of paired patient samples | Detection method | Quality assessment score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aftimos (12) | 2021 | Belgium | Prospective | Yes | All | 242 | tNGS | 34 |
| Agahozo (13) | 2019 | Netherlands | Retrospective | No | All | 26 | SNaPshot, dPCR | 17 |
| Akahane (14) | 2020 | Japan | Retrospective | Yes | All | 11 | tNGS | 19 |
| Akcakanat (15) | 2021 | USA | Retrospective | No | All | 10 | tNGS | 23 |
| Arthur (16) | 2014 | UK | Retrospective | No | All | 89 | PCR | 28 |
| Basho (17) | 2016 | USA | Retrospective | Yes | All | 89 | tNGS | 29 |
| Bertucci (18) | 2016 | France | Retrospective | No | All | 23 | aCGH, tNGS | 20 |
| Callens (19) | 2021 | France | Prospective | Yes | All | 67 | tNGS, WES | 30 |
| Chen (20) | 2021 | China | Retrospective | No | Lymph nodes | 131 | tNGS | 22 |
| Da Silva (21) | 2010 | Australia | Retrospective | Yes | Brain | 12 | PCR combined with MALDI-TOF MS | 18 |
| Drury (22) | 2011 | UK | Retrospective | Yes | All | 21 | PCR | 22 |
| Dupont Jensen (23) | 2011 | Denmark | Retrospective | No | All | 100 | SNaPshot, RT-PCR | 29 |
| Fumagalli C (24) | 2020 | Italy | Retrospective | No | All | 61 | tNGS | 29 |
| Fumagalli D (25) | 2016 | Belgium | Prospective | No | All | 68 | PCR-based MUT-MAP | 31 |
| Giannoudis (26) | 2021 | UK | Retrospective | No | Brain | 32 | PCR-based UltraSEEK® panel | 19 |
| Gonzalez-Angulo (27) | 2011 | USA | Retrospective | Yes | All | 47 | PCR- and mass spectometry based | 21 |
| Gonzales-Martinez (28) | 2022 | Spain | Retrospective | Yes | Skin | 33 | tNGS | 25 |
| Kim (29) | 2019 | South Korea | Retrospective | Yes | All | 19 | PCR combined with MALDI-TOF MS | 36 |
| Lee (30) | 2015 | South Korea | Retrospective | No | Brain | 15 | tNGS | 20 |
| Meric-Bernstam (31) | 2014 | USA | Retrospective | Yes | All | 33 | tNGS | 20 |
| Park (32) | 2022 | South Korea | Retrospective | No | All | 49 | ddPCR | 23 |
| Roy-Chowduri (33) | 2015 | USA | Prospective | No | All | 31 | tNGS | 23 |
| Schleifman (34) | 2014 | USA | Retrospective | No | All | 73 | PCR-based MUT-MAP, SNP | 21 |
| Thulin (35) | 2021 | Sweden | Retrospective | Yes | Brain | 37 | tNGS | 24 |
| van Geelen (36) | 2020 | Australia | Prospective | No | All | 76 | tNGS | 30 |
tNGS targeted next-generation sequencing, dPCR digital polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR real-time polymerase chain reaction, aCGH array-based comparative genomic hybridization, WES whole-exome sequencing; SNaPshot genotyping primerextension or minisequencing, ddPCR droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, MUT-MAP mutation multi-analyte panel, SNP single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping, MALDI-TOF MS matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry