Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39960915›Full record

SynthesisMedicine2025

Safety and efficacy of carbon dioxide laser therapy for vocal cord leukoplakia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jiao Liang, Yanan Zhou, Zhoujie Xu, Xingwei Cao

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jiao LiangCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China.ORCID 0000-0003-0334-7870
Yanan ZhouDepartment of ENT, Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Emeishan City, Leshan, Sichuan Province, China.
Zhoujie XuCollege of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Chongqing, China.
Xingwei CaoDepartment of Spinal Surgery, Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Emeishan City, Leshan, Sichuan Province, China.

Funding

Chongqing Municipal Health Commission's Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Project 2024WSJK125Science and Technology Research Program of the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission KJQN202302709
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundVocal cord leukoplakia is a precancerous lesion for which early surgical intervention following ineffective conservative treatment is the predominant approach. Carbon dioxide (CO2) laser treatment is a novel, minimally invasive therapy. However, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that CO2 laser treatment is superior to conventional surgical methods in terms of efficacy and safety. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CO2 laser treatment vs conventional surgical treatment for vocal cord leukoplakia.

methodsA literature search was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines across 8 databases. Studies on the use of carbon dioxide laser therapy for vocal cord leukoplakia were included in the review. Two researchers conducted a systematic search for randomized controlled trials in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database, and Chinese Biomedical Literature databases. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 18.0, and RevMan 5.2 software.

resultsThe findings indicated that Compared with conventional surgery, CO2 laser surgery significantly reduced the recurrence rate of vocal cord leukoplakia (odds ratio [OR] = 0.25, 95% confidence interval, CI [0.12, 0.51]). CO2 laser surgery significantly improved the cure rate of vocal cord leukoplakia (OR = 3.07, 95% CI [1.17, 8.09]). Voice quality following CO2 laser surgery was significantly superior to that following conventional surgery, particularly in terms of fundamental frequency disturbance (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.8, 95% CI [-1.25, -0.34]) and amplitude disturbance (SMD = -0.52, 95% CI [-0.95, -0.09]). The CO2 laser group exhibited a lower incidence of postoperative adverse reactions (OR = 0.32, 95% CI [0.03, 3.19]); however, this difference was not statistically significant.

conclusionThe results of this meta-analysis suggest that CO2 laser surgery can reduce the recurrence rate of vocal cord leukoplakia, improve the cure rate, and enhance voice quality. Therefore, CO2 laser surgery is recommended as a minimally invasive surgical approach for vocal cord leukoplakia.

Indexed as

Lasers, GasLaser TherapyLeukoplakiaVocal CordsHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID39960915
PMCPMC11835110

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.