Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging techniques for parotid tumors, a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the added benefit of combining different MRI techniques for preoperative diagnosis of parotid tumors when compared to conventional MRI and advanced MRI techniques alone with meta-analysis.

METHODS: A comprehensive PubMed electronic database search was performed for original diagnostic studies up to July 2017. The methodologic quality of each study was evaluated by two independent reviewers who used the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) tool. Statistical analysis included pooling of sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals (CI). All analyses were conducted using STATA (version 12.0), RevMan (version 5.2), and Meta-Disc 1.4 software programs.

RESULTS: Pooled sensitivity and specificity of conventional MRI, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) and the above combination were 76% (95%CI)/91% (95%CI)/80% (95%CI)/86% (95%CI) and 83% (95%CI)/56% (95%CI)/90% (95%CI)/90% (95%CI).

CONCLUSION: Conventional MRI combined with DWI and DCE showed higher diagnostic accuracy than conventional or advanced MRI alone, supporting their use in parotid tumors diagnosis.