Background: Tumour budding has been reported as a promising prognostic marker in many cancers. This meta-analysis assessed the prognostic value of tumour budding in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Methods: We searched OvidMedline, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science for articles that studied tumour budding in OSCC. We used reporting recommendations for tumour marker (REMARK) criteria to evaluate the quality of studies eligible for meta-analysis.

Results: A total of 16 studies evaluated the prognostic value of tumour budding in OSCC. The meta-analysis showed that tumour budding was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (odds ratio=7.08, 95% CI=1.75–28.73), disease-free survival (hazard ratio=1.83, 95% CI=1.34–2.50) and overall survival (hazard ratio=1.88, 95% CI=1.25–2.82).

Conclusions: Tumour budding is a simple and reliable prognostic marker for OSCC. Evaluation of tumour budding could facilitate personalised management of OSCC.