Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41078152›Full record

SynthesisHead & neck2026

Malignant Transformation of Oral Leukoplakia and Proliferative Verrucous Leukoplakia and Its Biomarker Predictors: A Systematic Umbrella Review.

Mohammed Taib Fatih, Mohammed Khalid Mahmood, Balkees Taha Garib, Yad Mariwan Mohammed Amin, Ranjdar Mahmood Talabani, Tara Ali Rasheed, Handren Ameer Kurda, Balen Hamid Qadir, Zana Fuad Noori, Mohammed Aso Abdulghafor and 4 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Head & neck, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Mohammed Taib FatihDepartment of Dentistry, Komar University of Science and Technology, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Mohammed Khalid MahmoodFrench National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), French Blood Establishment (EFS), Bio-Cultural Anthropology, Law, Ethics and Health Laboratory (ADES), Faculty of Medical and Paramedical Sciences, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.ORCID 0000-0002-8093-9514
Balkees Taha GaribCollege of Dentistry, Sulaymaniyah University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Yad Mariwan Mohammed AminDepartment of Dentistry, Tishk International University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Ranjdar Mahmood TalabaniOperative Dentistry and Endodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Sulaimani, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.ORCID 0000-0002-9833-1013
Tara Ali RasheedCollege of Dentistry, Sulaymaniyah University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.ORCID 0000-0001-6730-5114
Handren Ameer KurdaCollege of Dentistry, Sulaymaniyah University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Balen Hamid QadirDepartment of Dentistry, Komar University of Science and Technology, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Zana Fuad NooriCollege of Dentistry, American University of Sulaymaniyah Iraq AUIS, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Mohammed Aso AbdulghaforCollege of Dentistry, Sulaymaniyah University, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Ariwan Othman SaeedZhianawa Cancer Center, Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
Herve TasseryDental School of Medicine, Conservative and Endodontic Department, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
Delphine TardivoFrench National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), French Blood Establishment (EFS), Bio-Cultural Anthropology, Law, Ethics and Health Laboratory (ADES), Faculty of Medical and Paramedical Sciences, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.
Romain LanFrench National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), French Blood Establishment (EFS), Bio-Cultural Anthropology, Law, Ethics and Health Laboratory (ADES), Faculty of Medical and Paramedical Sciences, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOral leukoplakia (OL) represents the most common oral potentially malignant disorder globally, with highly variable reported malignant transformation (MT) rates creating challenges for evidence-based clinical management.

objectiveTo systematically synthesize evidence on MT prevalence in OL and evaluate potential predictive biomarkers through an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

methodsFollowing PRISMA guidelines, we searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Embase databases through July 2025. Twenty-seven systematic reviews encompassing more than 125,000 patients were included. Meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models, with quality assessed using AMSTAR 2 and GRADE approaches.

resultsTransformation rates were considerably higher in proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (48%) than in OL (6%). Females exhibited almost twice the MT rate of males (64% vs. 35%), while tongue lesions showed the highest site-specific risk (39%). The most promising predictive biomarker with a moderate level of evidence quality was DNA aneuploidy.

conclusionsBecause of its high malignant potential, OL necessitates risk-based surveillance protocols. While the bulk of other predictors requires further investigation, DNA aneuploidy shows potential for clinical application.

Indexed as

Cell Transformation, NeoplasticLeukoplakia, OralMouth NeoplasmsBiomarkers, TumorFemaleHumansMaleSystematic Reviews as TopicBiomarkers, Tumor

Identifiers

PMID41078152
PMCPMC12703581

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.