ReviewJournal of oral microbiology2026
The association between tongue features and tongue coating microbiota and gastrointestinal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Journal of oral microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers pose a significant health burden, highlighting the need for non-invasive biomarkers. Tongue inspection, a traditional diagnostic method in Chinese medicine, has been increasingly quantified via imaging and microbiome analysis. Objective: This review synthesizes evidence on tongue features and coating microbiota in GI cancer detection. Design: We systematically searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane and Chinese databases until July 2025 for case-control or cohort studies comparing tongue characteristics or microbiota between GI cancer patients and healthy controls. Data were pooled using fixed- or random-effects models. Results: Sixteen studies ( Conclusion: Abnormal tongue features and specific microbial shifts are associated with GI cancers, suggesting potential non-invasive tools for early detection. However, due to heterogeneity and methodological limitations, further large-scale prospective studies are needed for validation.
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Registered trials
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