Podoplanin Expression and the Risk of Malignant Transformation of Oral Pre‐Malignant Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Background Podoplanin is a mucin‐like transmembrane glycoprotein expressed in oral epithelium with a documented role in cell motility, tumorigenesis, tumor invasion, and metastasis. Podoplanin is a potentially valuable biomarker for determining malignant transformation of oral premalignant disease (OPMD). Methods A systematic search was done in accordance with PRISMA guidelines for articles reporting podoplanin expression in OPMD. The outcomes compared were the presence of podoplanin expression, the grade of podoplanin expression, and the incidence of malignant transformation. Statistical analysis of these outcomes included proportions (%), sensitivity, negative predictive value, and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results There were 14 included studies ( N = 971) with 78.7% OPMD, 13.9% OSCC, and 7.4% healthy controls. Positive expression of podoplanin had a sensitivity and negative predictive value for malignant transformation of 78.9% [95% CI: 69.7%–86.2%] and 88.8% [84.4%–92.1%], respectively. The hazard ratio was 4.4 for the malignant transformation of podoplanin expressing OPMDs [95% CI: 2.6–7.4]. Conclusions Podoplanin expression levels increased in a gradient from normal tissue to OPMD to OSCC, respectively. Furthermore, OPMD with podoplanin expression has higher rates of malignant transformation than OPMDs not expressing podoplanin.