Background and purpose: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are outstanding as novel cancer biomarkers with great prospects. Hence

we aimed to summarize the overall diagnostic assessment of lncRNAs for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed

EMbase

Cochrane Library

CBM

CNKI and Wanfang database from establishment of the database to February 2017. The quality of included studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) checklist. The pooled sensitivity

specificity

positive likelihood ratio (LR) and negative LR were analyzed using random effect model. The overall test efficacy was estimated using the summary receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC). Statistical analysis was conducted using Stata 12.0 and Meta-Disc 1.4 software. Results: A total of 13 studies involving 1296 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 1304 healthy controls were finally included. For overall lncRNA

the pooled sensitivity

specificity

positive LR and negative LR to predict HCC patients were 83% (95%CI: 81%-85%)

82% (95%CI: 80%-84%)

5.32 (95%CI: 3.37-8.42) and 0.21 (95%CI: 0.15-50.28)

respectively

corresponding to an AUC of 0.91. Conclusion: LncRNA have high diagnostic value for HCC

and their expressions can be used as auxiliary biomarkers in confirming HCC.