Abstract
BACKGROUND: This review investigated the association of COX-2, TNF-α, TLR4, and IKKα with the survival of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in the databases PUBMED, Web of Science, LILACS, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane Library. The studies should assess the expression of those proteins in the tumor and survival outcomes. RESULTS: Twenty-one articles were included. The meta-analysis results leaned towards an association of COX-2 overexpression with a lower overall survival. The estimated hazard ratio was 1.51 (95% CI 0.97, 2.33), but not statistically significant (p=0.07). A low heterogeneity was observed (I2=0%). Regarding TNF-α, TLR4, and IKKα, statistically significant results for the association with survival were presented, but there was not enough data to a meta-analysis. CONCLUSION: COX-2 overexpression may be associated with a poorer prognosis in oral SCC. The insufficiency of studies about TNF-α, TLR4, and IKKα restrained their validation as predictors of prognosis.