@misc{10481/106190,
year = {2025},
month = {7},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/106190},
abstract = {Background/Objectives: Oral leukoplakia (OL) is a prevalent oral potentially malignant
disorder. Despite its clinical relevance, the molecular basis of its progression to malignancy
is not yet fully elucidated. This scoping review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
aimed to synthesize current knowledge and evidence gaps regarding the implications of
hallmarks of cancer expression in OL malignant transformation. Methods: A systematic
search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, DARE, and the Cochrane Library to identify
systematic reviews (with or without meta-analysis) published up to April-2025. Results:
Twenty-two systematic reviews were included. The most frequently explored hallmark
was activation of invasion and metastasis (n = 12; 32.40%), followed by tumor-promoting
inflammation (n = 10; 27.03%), evasion of growth suppressors (n = 8; 21.60%), sustained
proliferative signaling (n = 3; 8.10%), energy metabolism reprogramming (n = 2; 5.40%),
replicative immortality (n = 1; 2.70%), and resistance to cell death (n = 1; 2.70%). No
evidence was found for angiogenesis or immune evasion in OL. Conclusions: Available
evidence indicates that OL may develop oncogenic mechanisms in early stages of oral oncogenesis, especially those related to sustained proliferation, evasion of growth suppressor
signals, and cellular migration and invasion. Chronic inflammation also may facilitate
the acquisition of other hallmarks throughout the multistep process of oral carcinogenesis.
These findings also reveal evidence gaps in underexplored hallmarks of cancer, which
highlights the need to expand future primary- and secondary-level investigations to better
define the molecular mechanisms underlying OL malignant transformation.},
publisher = {MDPI},
keywords = {Oral leukoplakia},
keywords = {Oral cancer},
keywords = {Malignant transformation},
keywords = {Cancer hallmarks},
keywords = {Scoping review},
title = {Hallmarks of Cancer Expression in Oral Leukoplakia: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses},
doi = {10.3390/cancers17152427},
author = {González Ruiz, Isabel and Samayoa Descamps, Valerie and Guagua-Cortez, Karen Andrea and González Moles, Miguel Ángel and Ramos García, Pablo},
}