Quantitative Review of Oral Cancer Research Output from Pakistan

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> Oral cancer is the most common cancer among men and second only to breast cancer amongwomen in Pakistan. For the effective control and prevention of oral cancer, Pakistan needs to recognize theimportance of research and generation of the evidence-base which can inform policy making and planning andimplementation of intervention programs. The objective of this review was to quantify oral cancer researchoutput in Pakistan. Materials and <br/><b>Methods</b>: A systematic electronic search in “Medline”, “ISI-Web of Science”and “Pakmedinet”, supplemented by a Google search, was carried out in January and February, 2014, to identifyliterature from Pakistan relevant to oral cancer. The selection of publications for the review was carried outaccording to preset criteria. Data were recorded and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. <br/><b>Results</b>: A total of 166publications comprising 62 case series, 36 cross sectional, 31 case control, 10 basic laboratory research, elevenreviews and two trials, were included in this review. Some 35 % of the publications focused on risk factors fororal cancer. COMSATS Institute of Information Technology was the institution with the highest contribution.<br/><b>Conclusions</b>: There is a lack of research in the field of oral cancer research in Pakistan. Focused efforts shouldbe put in place to improve both quality and quantity of oral cancer research in the country.