ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A BOON TO UNTANGLE THE DIFFICULTIES IN REDUCING THE BURDEN OF ORAL CANCER: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Oral Cancer (OC) is sixth most common cancer worldwide with increased mortality and morbidity. Early diagnosis increases the 5-year survival rate to 83%. Hence early detection acts as a key strategy for prevention and control of OC.
In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising tool for improving the accuracy and efficiency of disease diagnosis. AI can precisely analyze enormous dataset from different modalities which in turn may potentially improve OC screening. With this context a systematic review was conducted to explore the role of AI in various diagnostic approaches for oral precancer and cancer.
Objectives:
•    To identify, assess, and summarize the testimony for reported uses of AI in the areas of oral cancer
•    To evaluate the arrays of AI in histopathology, imaging, cytology and genomics
•    To see the robustness of AI in screening, early diagnosis, prognostic prediction, treatment planning and prevention of OC  
Methods: Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, the review scrutinized literature published between 1‑3‑2015 to 28‑02‑2025 from PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE databases with key words as Oral Cancer, Cytology, Genomics and Artificial Intelligence. Studies were screened first for eligibility based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Details of the study included and data was extracted.
Results: Qualitative data was analyzed for assessing sensitivity, specificity and heterogeneity of various AI techniques among studies with similar outcomes. 
Conclusion: This review and meta‑analysis intuits that AI combined with traditional approaches marks the significant breakthrough in healthcare innovation reducing the burden of eminently preventable OC.