Emdogain in carcinogenesis: a systematic review of in vitro studies

Emdogain is a commercial product of unknown composition and is clinically used to induce periodontal regeneration. This study aims to review current knowledge of the in vitro effects of Emdogain on oral tissues and, in particular, factors related to carcinoma. A systematic approach was used to review studies from the Embase and Pubmed databases; a total of 76 studies were included. These comprised in vitro studies of the cytokines in, or regulated by, Emdogain and assays designed to study the effects of EMD on human cells in oral tissues or malignant cells. Several studies have shown that EMD regulates the proliferation, migration, adhesion, gene expression, and cytokine production of (pre-)osteoblasts, periodontal fibroblasts, and gingival fibroblasts. However, the effects of EMD on malignant oral cells are not well understood. EMD seems to have broad regulatory effects on malignant cells and on several carcinoma-related factors. Evidence suggests that patients with premalignant or malignant mucosal lesions should not be treated with EMD.