How to Recognize the Signs of Oral Carcinoma
squamous cell carcinoma tongue
3 Parts: Seek the Physical Signs Recognize the other Signs Obtain a Medical Diagnosis
Oral and throat carcinoma accounts for 2% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States in one year. [1] It is extremely important to be able to identify it quickly and start treatment as soon as possible to significantly increase the chances of survival. For example, the five-year survival rate for patients with non-metastatic oral cancer is 83%, while for individuals with metastasis, it falls to 32%. [2] Although the doctor and the dentist are able to identify the pathology, recognizing the signs you can facilitate an early diagnosis and undergo immediate treatment. The more you are alert and the better.
Part
1
Look for the Physical Signs
1
Check your mouth regularly. Most oral and throat cancers, but not all, cause well-defined signs or symptoms during the early stages. Sometimes, the tumor is completely asymptomatic until it reaches an advanced stage. Regardless of this, doctors and dentists recommend checking the oral cavity regularly at least once a month, looking for abnormalities, as well as undergoing constant medical check-ups. [3]
Oral carcinoma can theoretically develop anywhere in the mouth and throat, including the lips, the tongue, the soft and hard palate, the tonsils and inside the cheeks. [4] The teeth are the only immune elements.
Consider buying or letting the dentist give you a small dental mirror to better control the inside of your mouth.
Brush your teeth and use dental floss before inspection. If the gums bleed too much after cleaning or using the thread, rinse with warm salt water and wait a few minutes before proceeding.
2
Look for the presence of small white lesions. Check the entire oral cavity to make sure there are no ulcers or white wounds, which doctors call leukoplakies. They are precursory alterations of oral carcinoma and are often confused with canker sores, small ulcers caused by abrasions or minor traumas. [5] The leukoplakia are also mistaken for bacterial infections of the gums or tonsils or for candidiasis (thrush).
Although canker sores and other ulcers are usually very painful, the leukoplakia do not cause pain until they are in advanced stages.
Herpes are more common in the lips, cheeks and sides of the tongue, while leukoplakia can be formed anywhere in the oral cavity.
Mouth ulcers and other small abrasions usually heal within a week of following good hygiene practices. In contrast, precancerous lesions do not disappear and often become larger and more painful over time.
Any white ulcer that does not resolve within two weeks should be referred to the doctor.3
Look for lesions or red spots. While inspecting the oral cavity and the back of the throat, be careful of any red spots or ulcers. They are called erythroplakias and, although they are less common than white lesions, they have a greater potential to turn into a carcinoma. [6] Erythroplakia is initially painful to touch, but does not do as much pain as ulcers that look similar, such as canker sores, herpetic lesions or gum inflammation.
In the initial phase, canker sores are reddened before they get ulcerated and become white; the erythroplaxies remain red and do not heal after a week.
Herpetic lesions develop in the mouth, but are more common along the outer edges of the lips. Cancerous red ulcers are always inside the oral cavity.
The blisters and irritations caused by acidic foods can be confused with the erythroplakias, but they disappear quickly.
Any ulcer or red lesion that does not heal in two weeks should be evaluated by a doctor.
4
Palate the nodules and rough spots. The other potential signs of oral carcinoma are the nodules and the development of rough spots in the mouth. [7] In general, cancer is defined as an uncontrolled division of cells, therefore nodules, swelling or other new forms may occur. Use the tongue to sense the inside surfaces of the mouth in search of bumps, nodules, protrusions or wrinkled areas. In the early stages, these abnormalities are not painful and may be confused with other changes in the oral cavity.
Gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) often hides potentially dangerous nodules; however, this disease causes tissue bleeding when you brush your teeth or use dental floss, while cancerous tumors do not.
Sometimes, the lump or the thickening of the tissues alters the fitting of the denture causing discomfort, which is the first sign of carcinoma of the mouth.
You should always be alarmed when you feel a lump growing in your mouth or rough areas that increase in surface area.
Wrinkled areas can be caused by chewing tobacco, denture abrasions, dry mouth (lack of saliva) or Candida infections.
You should inform your doctor about any new or roughness that does not disappear within two or three weeks.
5
Do not ignore the pain or the tactile sensation. These symptoms are usually caused by problems of a benign nature, such as a tooth decay, an included wisdom tooth, inflamed gums, a throat infection, canker sores, or a badly placed denture. For this reason, it is quite difficult to distinguish pain potentially related to cancer, but if your dental condition is good and you have just made a checkup, you should be suspicious. [8]
Intense and sudden pain is usually related to a nervous or dental problem and is not a sign of carcinoma.
The chronic pain or a dull ache that worsens with time is more worrying, but it could still be caused by dental problems easily resolved with a visit from the dentist.
You should be alarmed if you experience a nagging suffering that spreads in your mouth and causes swollen lymph nodes in your jaw and neck; it should be a sufficient symptom to get you to go to the doctor immediately for a check.
You have to get to the bottom of the matter when you experience prolonged numbness or sensitivity to your lips, mouth or throat.
Part
2
Recognize the other Signs
1
Do not ignore chewing difficulties. Because of the development of erythroplakias, leukoplakias, nodules, rough areas and / or pain, patients with mouth cancer often complain of mastication difficulties and of tongue and jaw movement. [9] Teeth that are loosened or displaced by the development of the tumor mass make it difficult to chew properly, so you should take note of these changes.
If you are elderly, you should not assume that mastication problems are caused by poorly positioned dentures. If it has not given you problems in the past, it means that something has changed in your mouth.
The carcinoma of the mouth, especially that of the tongue or the cheeks, leads to involuntary bite these tissues more than usual.
If you are an adult and notice that you are losing your teeth or they become crooked, make an appointment with the dentist as soon as possible.2
Take note of any difficulty in swallowing. Because of the development of ulcers, nodules and problems with tongue movement, many patients report that they can not swallow properly. [10] The problem could initially manifest itself only with food, but an advanced throat tumor makes it impossible to even swallow the drinks and the same saliva.
Throat cancer causes swelling and narrowing of the esophagus (the tube that leads to the stomach); moreover, the constantly inflamed throat causes pain every time you swallow.
This pathology can also manifest itself with numbness of the throat and / or sensation of a foreign body, as a "node".
Tumors of the tonsils and the back half of the tongue cause a greater difficulty in swallowing.
3
Pay attention to changes in the voice. Another common sign of oral carcinoma, especially in the terminal stage, is the difficulty in speaking. Failing to move the tongue and jaw correctly, the patient is unable to pronounce the words well. The voice becomes more hoarse and the timbre changes because the tumor invades the vocal cords. [11] As a result, pay attention to changes in your voice and to those who inform you that you are speaking differently.
Sudden and unexplained changes in the voice can indicate the presence of a lesion on or near the vocal cords.
The sensation of a foreign body in the throat causes some patients to develop an audible nervous tic in an attempt to lighten the throat constantly.
An obstruction of the pathways caused by cancer can also change the way we speak and the tone of voice.
Part
3
Get a Medical Diagnosis
Image titled Recognize Signs of Oral Cancer Step 9
1
Schedule an appointment with your doctor or dentist. If any signs or symptoms described above last more than two weeks or get worse quickly, you should contact the doctor or dentist immediately. Unless the primary care physician is also an otorhinolaryngologist, the best thing to do is contact the dentist, because he can quickly evaluate any other non-cancerous problem and treat it to give you some relief.
In addition to a visual examination of the mouth (lips, cheeks, tongue, gums, tonsils and throat included), the doctor can also check the neck, nose and ears to determine the cause of the symptoms.
You will be asked questions about your risky behavior (use of tobacco and alcohol) and family history, since some tumors have a genetic component. [12]
Remember that people over 40, especially those of a male or African-American descent, are considered to be at risk for oral cancer.
2
Ask your doctor about special dyes for the mouth. In addition to undergoing an examination, some dentists and doctors use special oral dyes to better visualize anomalies, especially if you are considered a risky subject. [13] For example, one of these techniques uses a dye called toluidine blue.
By applying toluidine blue to the cancerous areas, the diseased tissues take on a darker color than the surrounding healthy ones.
Sometimes even damaged or infected mucous membranes become darker; therefore, this test is not conclusive for diagnosing cancer, but is only a visual aid.
To make sure that it is a malignant tumor, it is necessary to take a tissue sample (biopsy) so that a specialist observes it under a microscope.
3
Ask the doctor to use a laser light. A further method to distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissues is the use of special lasers. When light reflects on the diseased mucosa, these appear different, more opaque than healthy tissues. [14] Another option is to use a special fluorescent light to inspect the oral cavity after rinsing with acetic acid solution (in practice vinegar). Also in this case, the anomalous lesions will be more evident.
If cancer is suspected, a biopsy is performed.
Alternatively, the abnormal mucosa are evaluated through an exfoliative cytology: the lesion is scraped with a rigid brush and the cells are observed under a microscope.
TipsImage titled Recognize Signs of Oral Cancer Step 3
Treatments for carcinoma in the mouth are usually chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In some cases, the lesions are surgically removed.
Avoiding alcohol and tobacco can reduce the risk of developing this cancer.
To identify carcinoma of the mouth early, it is important to have regular check-ups at the dentist.
The incidence rate of this disease among men is twice that of women. African American men are particularly prone to contracting it.
A diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables (especially cruciferous like broccoli) is associated with a lower rate of oral and pharyngeal carcinoma. [15]
Warnings
If you see or feel something abnormal or painful in your mouth that does not heal within a few days, do not hesitate to make an appointment with your doctor or dentist.
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