ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This systematic review was undertaken to determine the risk of oral cancer in patients with chronic graft-vs-host disease (cGvHD). STUDY DESIGN: The search was conducted in 6 electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus, and LIVIVO) and gray literature (Google Scholar, Open Gray, and ProQuest) for studies published up to November 2021. RESULTS: Of the 13 cohorts included in qualitative synthesis, 9 were eligible for the quantitative analysis. The meta-analysis showed that the presence of cGvHD increased the risk of developing oral cancer (risk ratio [RR] = 2.78; 95% CI, 1.27-6.08; I2 = 46%; P = .01). A subgroup meta-analysis revealed a higher risk of oral cancer in Asian samples exposed to cGvHD (RR = 2.50; 95% CI, 1.54-4.04; I2 = 0%; P = .0002), which was not seen in the pooled analysis of European samples (P = .24). The overall methodological quality of most studies included was "good." The cumulative evidence (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) was considered moderate and of very low confidence for Asian and European studies, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cGvHD resulting from allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation run an increased risk of developing oral cancer. Hence, it is recommended that patients with cGvHD be monitored to allow for the early detection and treatment of secondary malignant disease.