Circulating Tumor DNA, Imaging, and Carcinoembryonic Antigen: Comparison of Surveillance Strategies Among Patients Who Underwent Resection of Colorectal Cancer—A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BackgroundAlmost one-third of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients experience recurrence after resection; nevertheless, follow-up strategies remain controversial. We sought to systematically assess and compare the accuracy of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), imaging [positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans], and circulating tumor DNA (CtDNA) as surveillance strategies.Patients and MethodsPubMed, Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, Web of Science, and CINAHL were systematically searched. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) was used to assess methodological quality. We performed a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis and reported pooled sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) values for each surveillance strategy.ResultsThirty studies were included in the analysis. PET scans had the highest sensitivity to detect recurrence (0.95; 95%CI 0.91–0.97), followed by CT scans (0.77; 95%CI 0.67–0.85). CtDNA positivity had the highest specificity to detect recurrence (0.95; 95%CI 0.91–0.97), followed by increased CEA levels (0.88; 95%CI 0.82–0.92). Furthermore, PET scans had the highest DOR to detect recurrence (DOR 120.7; 95%CI 48.9–297.9) followed by CtDNA (DOR 37.6; 95%CI 20.8–68.0).ConclusionPET scans had the highest sensitivity and DOR to detect recurrence, while CtDNA had the highest specificity and second highest DOR. Combinations of traditional cross-sectional/functional imaging and newer platforms such as CtDNA may result in optimized surveillance of patients following resection of CRC.