oral cancer treatment

Oral cancer: causes, diagnosis and treatment

tongue cancer treatment tongue cancer mouth cancer

Oral cancer is not very common (it represents 2-4% of all tumors), but the incidence varies according to the geographical areas.
Oral cancer is a type of cancer of the head and neck that develops at the level of the oral cavity, which includes the lips, cheeks, gums, the floor of the mouth (the area under the tongue), the part mobile of the tongue, the hard palate (the bony roof of the mouth) and the small region that lies behind the wisdom teeth.

The most frequent type is that which originates from the squamous cells that line the mouth and that, for this reason, is called squamous cell carcinoma (or even spinocellular carcinoma).

What risk do I take to get oral cancer?

If you smoke, the probability that you can get a mouth cancer is higher than other people's: In fact, among people with mouth cancer, 8 out of 10 are smokers. The probability of getting sick is then higher if you regularly take alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, if you are both a smoker and a consumer of alcohol, the risk is further multiplied, as the harmful effects of the tobacco and alcohol consumed together are mutually reinforcing, with a synergistic effect.

Even the health of your mouth plays an important role: in fact, broken and in bad condition teeth, dental cavities and dentures (which can produce lesions to the mucosa due to rubbing) can favor the development of these tumors. Solar radiation increases the risk of contracting lip cancer.

This type of cancer appears especially in men over the age of 40. However, it is also increasing in the younger population, undoubtedly due to the increase in cases of human papilloma virus infection (one of the risk factors for this disease), which is transmitted through unprotected sex.

A bladder has formed in my mouth: can it be a cancer?

Oral cancer can begin with an injury that seems of little importance: a reddened or whitish area (called leukopropy), a more or less sore ulcer, a slightly hardened or bleeding area ... If it has no cause apparent and persist for more than two weeks, it is possible that this injury is malignant. It is clear that, in many cases, it will not be anything to worry about, but in general it is better to perform a biopsy (that is, take a piece of tissue to analyze it in the laboratory).

In some cases, these changes in the mucosa of the mouth are precancerous, ie they are inherently benign, but must be treated, because otherwise they can evolve into cancer.

In other cases, however, the lesions are associated with swelling at the neck (that is, the lymph nodes are swollen), which greatly increases the likelihood that they are actually cancerous.

How can I confirm the diagnosis?

The best way to confirm a diagnosis is to perform a biopsy. If the diagnosis confirms that it is a cancer, it is necessary to define its extension: for this purpose, radiographs, computerized axial tomography (TAC) or other types of image diagnosis will be performed.

Mouth cancer can extend to nearby lymph nodes and, more rarely, to other organs, through the blood (metastasis): the affected areas are mainly the lung, the liver and the bones.

The stage in which the tumor is located is defined through the TNM system: the T represents the size and level of development in the mouth, the N corresponds to the state of the lymph nodes and M indicates the presence of metastases. Depending on the stage of cancer development, the therapeutic approach and prognosis vary a lot.

I was diagnosed with oral cancer: what therapies should I follow?

Surgery and radiotherapy are the most important therapies. If the tumor is small, surgery may be sufficient. You will remove the entire carcinoma and at least 2 cm of the healthy tissues surrounding it, and also the lymph nodes of the neck, regardless of whether they are affected by the disease.

Another possibility is radiotherapy alone, although a slightly larger tumor usually uses a combination of surgery and radiotherapy. The latter can have different consequences, such as nausea, vomiting, inflammation and dry mouth.

Chemotherapy is used in the more advanced stages when metastases are already present.It is important that you stop smoking and drinking and that you take care of your mouth hygiene during treatment, to improve the results.

At the end of the treatment, there may be several late side effects: aesthetic problems, difficulty speaking and eating, discomfort at the mouth level ... Furthermore, the stress resulting from the diagnosis of a cancer can have a very strong impact on the your mood. Do not be demoralized: there are different approaches and many specialists who can help you control these complications, such as speech therapists, cosmetic surgeons and psychologists.