The incidence of oral cavity cancer in Iran: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Oral cancer is now a top priority for non‐communicable illnesses and universal health care plans, according to the WHO. There is no general estimate of the incidence of oral cavity cancer in Iran, despite multiple investigations. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the age‐standardized incidence rate (ASR) of oral cavity cancers in Iran. METHOD: In accordance with the MOOSE (Meta‐analyses of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) Checklist recommendations, this systematic review was conducted. PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Embase, Scopus, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were used as the international databases for the systematic literature search, while SID (Scientific Information Database), Magiran and element were used as the Iranian databases. The heterogeneity of the research will be evaluated by means of the inverse variance and Cochran Q tests, along with random‐effect models. It was determined what caused the heterogeneity using a meta‐regression model. By eliminating experiments one at a time, sensitivity analysis was used. The meta‐analysis was corrected utilizing the Trim‐and‐fill method due to the identification of noteworthy publication bias via the Egger's test and asymmetry of the funnel plot. RESULTS: This research incorporated a total of 22 journal articles. The pooled ASR of oral cavity cancer for males and females was estimated at 1.96 (95% CI: 1.65–2.26) (Q statistic = 1118.09, df = 25, p < .0001, I (2) = 97.8%), and 1.46 (95% CI: 1.14–1.77) (Q statistic = 2576.99, df = 26, p < .0001, I (2) = 99.0%), respectively. According to the funnel plots and Egger's test, there is no evidence of publication bias in studies reporting on males (bias = 1.3220, 95% CI: −3.9571, 6.6012, p = .610), but for ASR in females, Egger's test was significant (bias = −7.6366, 95% CI: 2.2141, 13.05904, p = .008). Based on Trim‐and‐fill methods, overall ASR corrected in females was estimated to be 1.36 (95% CI: 1.05%–1.66%). CONCLUSION: Iran's oral cavity cancer incidence was lower than the global average, but owing to variables including an aging population, a rise in life expectancy, and exposure to risk factors like smoking, we anticipate an increasing trend.