A total of 5660 articles originated from South Asia (n = 4718) and Southeast Asia (n = 942). India (n = 4302; 91.2%) was the country publishing most articles on oral cancer in South Asia, and Malaysia (n = 355; 37.7%) was first in Southeast Asia. Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, and areca nut as risk factors were common keywords, attention should be paid to them while developing polices for oral cancer control. In India, the most topic including distinctive keywords was diagnostics (sensitivity/specificity, saliva, and predictive value), followed by molecular biology (antioxidants, lipid peroxidation, and glutathione), experimental in vivo (hamster and cheek pouch), and risk factor (smokeless tobacco). In Malaysia, the most topic containing keywords was molecular biology followed by epidemiology and drug research.

This study for the first time reported the scientometric characteristics of oral cancer research in South Asia (India) and Southeast Asia (Malaysia). It is essential to improve the public awareness of risk factors control to reduce the oral cancer burden, especially in low-and middle-income countries.