Huang W, Huang YQ, Yang GL. Limitations and suggestions for type 2 diabetes mellitus and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors based on meta-analysis. World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(46): 4947-4949 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i46.4947]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Guo-Li Yang, Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Road, Yuanjiagang, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400016, China. yangguoli97@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 14, 2024; 30(46): 4947-4949 Published online Dec 14, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i46.4947
Limitations and suggestions for type 2 diabetes mellitus and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors based on meta-analysis
Wei Huang, Yi-Qi Huang, Guo-Li Yang
Wei Huang, Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First People’s Hospital of Chenzhou, Chenzhou 423000, Hunan Province, China
Yi-Qi Huang, Department of Nephrology, The Shaoxing Second Hospital, Shaoxing 312000, Zhejiang Province, China
Guo-Li Yang, Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
Author contributions: Huang W conceptualized this study and drafted manuscript; Yang GL and Huang YQ participated in the discussion; Huang W and Yang GL revised the manuscript; and all authors had read and agreed to the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Guo-Li Yang, Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Road, Yuanjiagang, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400016, China. yangguoli97@163.com
Received: May 27, 2024 Revised: October 16, 2024 Accepted: November 7, 2024 Published online: December 14, 2024 Processing time: 177 Days and 13.6 Hours
Abstract
We read with great interest the systematic review and meta-analysis by Cigrovski Berkovic et al published recently, which evaluated the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs). The study identified T2DM as a risk factor for the development of pNETs and linked it to poor tumor-free survival. However, due to the limited number of studies and high heterogeneity, the role of metformin in the diagnosis and prognosis of pNETs remained inconclusive. We believe the study has some limitations regarding literature search, risk of bias assessment, and analysis of heterogeneity and publication bias. Expanding the search to more databases, applying more appropriate bias assessment tools, and using better statistical methods to evaluate heterogeneity and publication bias would strengthen the study’s conclusions. Addressing these concerns could provide more robust evidence for understanding the diagnostic and prognostic impact of T2DM in pNETs.
Core Tip: In the study, we can see in the type 2 diabetes mellitus results and pooled analyses, the authors said that “the low heterogeneity was graphically observable, also looking at the Galbraith and Funnel plots (Figure 3A and B)”. This is mistake and funnel plot should only be used to check for the publication bias. And in order to test for publication bias for this study, quantitative Begg’s test and Egger test were recommended, because the number of inclusion studies are less than 10.
