Secondary Oral Cancer after Systemic Treatment of Hematological Malignancies and Oral GVHD: A Systematic Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The number of hematopoietic cells transplantations is increasing annually, and the average survival time after treatment is gradually extending. As a result, these patients experience late side effects of hematological treatment, including secondary oral cancer. The oral cavity is relatively easily accessible for examination; therefore, every physician should be familiar with different pathologies of this area and, when necessary, refer patients to an ENT specialist for examination. In this review, the authors tried to identify a potential correlation between the oral chronic form of graft-versus-host disease and oral cancer in patients after hematopoietic cell transplantation, and they tried to propose a surveillance protocol and tips that can be used during a patient’s follow-up. ABSTRACT: (1) Purpose: In this article, the authors decided to systematically review the available literature to identify potential correlations regarding secondary oral carcinoma occurring after hematological systemic treatment and oral chronic graft-versus-host disease. (2) Methods: Medline (PubMed) and Scopus (Elsevier) databases were searched, including articles from the years 2002–2022. The 33 unique results were assessed by a PRISMA flowchart, and we rejected 24 papers and included 9 articles in the review. (3) Results: The majority of patients suffered from the oral form of chronic graft-versus-host disease before the diagnosis of oral malignancy. Two common cancer sites were the tongue and buccal mucosa. The exact percentage of secondary oral carcinoma after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation could not be estimated due to a lack of data. (4) Conclusions: Every physician taking part in the follow-up of patients after hematological treatment should be aware of the possibility of secondary neoplastic disease in the oral cavity, especially in patients with oral graft-versus-host disease. Proper follow-up protocols and monitoring are needed in this patient group as the cause of these cancers appears to be multifactorial.