Malignant transformation rate of oral submucous fibrosis: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Gayatri Nayanar, Mamatha G S Reddy, Pradnya Kakodkar, Elizabeth C Dony
Abstract
Abstract Aim To review and summarize all the available data from the literature regarding the malignant transformation of oral submucous fibrosis and derive a mean malignant transformation rate (MTR). Materials and Methods The electronic search was conducted using PubMed and google scholar. Only full‐text English language articles published from the earliest possible date to 30 April 2019 were included in the study. Abstracts, reviews, letters to editors and editorials were excluded. The study protocol was registered in PROSPERO(CRD42019124563). Data were extracted by 2 reviewers. The random effects model was used to perform the meta‐analysis. Result A total of 10 articles were included in the review after screening 1177 records. The majority of studies available were from India and Taiwan. Out of 5428 oral submucous fibrosis cases, 298 cases transformed to oral squamous cell carcinoma. Males showed a greater predilection for transformation. The MTR rates varied from 1.9% to 12%. The overall mean MTR obtained based on the available data was 5.5%, and the MTR of India and Taiwan obtained were 5.0% and 5.5%, respectively. Conclusion The systematic review and meta‐analysis based on the available literature have concluded that patients with OSF have a mean risk of 5.5% for malignant transformation into OSCC.