Diagnostic accuracy of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders: A systematic review protocol

• Published in: Medwave 2020-06, Vol.20 (5), p.e7938-e7938
• Main Authors: Madera, Meisser, Franco, Juan Víctor Ariel, Solà, Ivan, Bonfill, Xavier, Arévalo-Rodriguez, Ingrid
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; spa
• Subjects: biomarkers; Biomarkers - analysis; diagnosis; Humans; mouth neoplasms; Mouth Neoplasms - diagnosis; Mouth Neoplasms - mortality; Research Design; saliva; Saliva - metabolism; sensitivity; Sensitivity and Specificity; specificity
• ISSN: 0717-6384; 0717-6384
• DOI: 10.5867/medwave.2020.05.7938

Oral cancer has a 5-year survival rate of 50% because diagnosis is commonly performed at an advanced stage of the disease, so new diagnostic tools are needed. Nowadays, there is a vast number of publications suggesting the use of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders diagnosis, but their diagnostic accuracy is unclear. Thus, the goal of this systematic review is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders. This protocol is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P). We will include primary studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders. Studies must report data about sensitivity and specificity; gold standard must be the histopathology diagnosis. We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and gray literature. Two authors will independently select the studies and extract the data. The methodology quality of studies will be determined using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2). Our findings will provide information about the diagnostic accuracy of salivary biomarkers for oral cancer and potentially malignant disorders.