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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1532253
Diagnostic performance of the triglyceride-glucose index in predicting occurrence of cancer: a meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted- 1Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, Tainan, Taiwan
- 2E-Da Hospital, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
- 3Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
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Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index in predicting cancer occurrence.Method: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar from inception to July 2024. Observational studies reporting the diagnostic efficacy of the TyG index in predicting cancer occurrence using ROC curve analysis were included. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve were calculated using a bivariate random-effects model.Results: Eleven studies with 46,658 participants were included. Patients with cancer had a significantly higher TyG index than those without cancer (mean difference: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.23-0.45). The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the TyG index for predicting cancer occurrence were 0.68 (95% CI: 0.62-0.74) and 0.65 (95% CI: 0.54-0.74), respectively. The area under the SROC curve was 0.72 (95% CI: 0.68-0.75), indicating good discriminatory ability. Subgroup analysis of female participants yielded similar results, with an AUC of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.69-0.77).Conclusion: The TyG index demonstrates good discriminatory ability and may have potential as an adjunct screening tool to help identify individuals at a higher risk of developing cancer. However, this should be interpreted alongside other established risk factors, as many confounding factors (including cancer type, genetic predisposition, and other malignancy risk factors) must be considered. Further research is needed to establish optimal cut-off values, which likely vary across different cancer types, and to investigate their diagnostic accuracy in diverse populations.
Keywords: Triglyceride-glucose index, TyG, Cancers, Sensitivity, specificity, prediction
Received: 08 Jan 2025; Accepted: 16 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Wang, Wu, Yu, Chang and Hung. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kuo-Chuan Hung, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.