Drug Treatment of Oral Submucous Fibrosis: A Review of the Literature

PurposeTo review the literature on drug treatment of oral submucous fibrosis.Materials and MethodsAn electronic search was performed for articles published from January 1960 to August 2008.ResultsOnly 17 publications were searched, and 15 publications showed a high level of evidence (6 randomized controlled trials, 4 clinical trials/controlled clinical trials, and 5 other experimental studies), with a total of 1,224 patients.ConclusionsFew studies with high levels of evidence were found. It is quite difficult to compare or even combine their outcomes in a scientifically meaningful manner. Because of insufficient research data, there is a need for high-quality randomized, controlled trials in this area of medicine.