Symptoms Of Oral Cancer

Oral and pharyngeal cancer is the cancer that can develop either in the oral cavity or at the oropharynx, region of the throat that lies at the back of the mouth. Oral cancer is surprisingly the largest group of head and neck cancer category. Some of the common names for oral cancer include tongue cancer, mouth cancer and throat cancer. This silent killer disease develops more in men than in women and affects a lot of people every year and has a very poor survival rate. However, early detection of this disease improves the survival rate.

Oftentimes, oral cancer develops on the thin flat cells of the mouth, tongue and lips and is referred as squamous-cell carcinoma. The cancerous cells then begin to metastasize and enter the lymphatic system. The cells often appear, first in the lymph nodes in the neck and then begin to spread in other parts of the body. There are certain risk factors that increase the chances of a person becoming an oral cancer patient.

The risk factors of oral cancer include:

• Increased use of tobacco in the form of smoking cigars or cigarettes and chewing tobacco or taking tobacco snuffs
• Excess consumption of alcohol
• Prolonged exposure to sun often increases the risk of lip cancer
• Exposure to Human Papilloma Virus-16
• Exposure to environmental toxic substances such as wood dust, asbestos and industrial chemicals.

Warning signs and symptoms of oral cancer:

• Mouth sore for a longer duration that does not heal with a feeling of numbness
• Painless red or white patches on either gum, tongue or inside mouth
• Extreme difficulty in chewing and swallowing of food
• Increased difficulty in moving either jaw or tongue
• Lump in the mouth or neck
• Significant weight loss and fatigue
• Frequent nose bleed or even blood in the mouth

Treatment Options
Treatment of oral cancer depends primarily on the stage of cancer after a definitive diagnosis has been made. To determine whether the cancerous cells have spread to different parts of the body, some investigations including dental x-rays, chest x-rays, CT scan and MRI need to be done. It is only through these kind of tests that a cancer stage can be ascertained and a treatment plan can then be chalked out to fight against this disease.

It has been noted that treating oral cancer involves a multidisciplinary approach as it involves the skill and efforts of surgeons, chemotherapy oncologists, radiation oncologists, dentists, nutritionist and restorative specialists. Some of the common treatment options are as follows:

• Surgery: Although, it is one of the most common options to remove the cancerous tumors, but again, it is the reconstructive surgery, wherein a part of tissue is removed from one part and re-inserted into another that helps to improve the person's appearance. This technology has helped improve the physical appearance of people whose bones of mouth and face have been damaged by cancer.

• Radiation: Intensity-modulated radiation therapy, Radiosentisizers and radio protectors are the most common methods to treat oral cancer by radiation.

• Chemotherapy: Patients that have undergone surgery and radiation therapy; take recourse to chemotherapy to prevent further spreading of the cancerous cells. This therapy uses anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells and is usually given by injection.