Non-Cochrane · DTA · PM41484977
MMP-9 as a diagnostic salivary biomarker for early detection of oral cancers: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Shaukat Aqsa, Nisar Saleha, Asghar Mehmood, et al. · BMC oral health · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1186/s12903-025-07513-x
Findings
6 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and controls | Salivary MMP-9 measured by ELISA as index test | Histopathology after biopsy (reference test); healthy controls | Pooled area under the SROC curve of salivary MMP-9 for OSCC | AUC 0.97 [0.85, 1.0] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Adults with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and controls | Salivary MMP-9 measured by ELISA as index test | Histopathology after biopsy (reference test); healthy controls | Pooled sensitivity of salivary MMP-9 for OSCC | Sensitivity 0.98 [0.85, 1.0] GRADE not reported 5 studies · 522 participants |
| Adults with oral squamous cell carcinoma (early stage I, II targeted) versus controls | Salivary MMP-9 measured by ELISA (index test) | Healthy controls; histopathology after biopsy as reference standard | Specificity of salivary MMP-9 for OSCC Abstract and Fig. 6 SROC summary point (Meta-DiSc 2.0 bivariate random effects) | Specificity 0.96 [0.85, 1.0] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Adults with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and controls | Salivary MMP-9 measured by ELISA as index test | Histopathology after biopsy (reference test); healthy controls | Mean salivary MMP-9 level (OSCC vs control) | SMD 5.96 [-3.3, 15.22] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 462 participants |
| Adults with oral squamous cell carcinoma (early stage I, II targeted) versus controls | Salivary MMP-9 measured by ELISA (index test) | Healthy controls; histopathology after biopsy as reference standard | Sensitivity of salivary MMP-9 for OSCC Abstract and Fig. 6 SROC summary point (Meta-DiSc 2.0 bivariate random effects) | Sensitivity 0.98 [0.85, 1.0] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Adults with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and controls | Salivary MMP-9 measured by ELISA as index test | Histopathology after biopsy (reference test); healthy controls | Pooled specificity of salivary MMP-9 for OSCC | Specificity 0.96 [0.85, 1.0] GRADE not reported 5 studies · 522 participants |
Included primary studies 7
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghallab and Shaker 2017 Serum and salivary levels of chemerin and MMP-9 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral premalignant lesions. PMID:27161218 | 2017 | 2 other reviews | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kochurova 2017 Estimation of Expression of Oral Fluid Biomarkers in the Diagnosis of Pretumor Diseases of Oral Mucosa. PMID:28580490 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Pazhani 2023 Evaluation of salivary MMP-9 in oral squamous cell carcinoma and oral leukoplakia using ELISA. PMID:38304520 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Peisker 2017 Salivary MMP-9 in the detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma. PMID:28160595 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Shin 2021 Diagnostic and prognostic ability of salivary MMP-9 for oral squamous cell carcinoma: A pre-/post-surgery case and matched control study. PMID:33735248 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Smriti 2020 Salivary MMP-9 as a Biomarker for the Diagnosis of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. PMID:31983189 | 2020 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Thiruvalluvan 2021 Estimation of salivary matrix metalloproteinase-9 in oral leukoplakia, oral submucous fibrosis, and healthy individuals: a comparative… DOI:10.5114/jos.2021.111644 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Adults with oral cancer (early stage I, II), oral potentially malignant disorders or suspicious lesions | 795 patients (398 controls, 209 OSCC, 166 OPMD, 22 smokers); studies from Afghanistan, Egypt, Germany, India, Korea, Russia |
| Intervention | Salivary MMP-9 levels measured by ELISA or in situ zymography (index test) | Salivary MMP-9 by ELISA (n=7) |
| Comparison | Healthy controls; histopathology after biopsy as reference standard | Healthy controls; histopathology after biopsy (n=7) |
| Outcomes | Mean salivary MMP-9 level, sensitivity, specificity, AUC | Mean MMP-9 (4 studies), sensitivity and specificity (5 studies), AUC |
| Study designs | Diagnostic test accuracy studies of any design | Two-gate exploratory diagnostic accuracy studies (prospective, cross-sectional, observational, case-control, clinical trial) |
| Timing | Not specified | Not specified |