Oral Cancer

Question 1

Outline

Answer 1

can affect various areas of mouth, soft tissues, salivary glands or jaw bones. 90% affect soft tissues initially, as a lesion called squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) the suggested causative factors are:

Question 2

Tobacco habits

Answer 2

all tobacco products contain chemicals capable of causing cancer (carcinogens)

Question 3

High alcohol consumption

Answer 3

alcohol acts as a solvent for carcinogens + allows them easier entry into soft tissues

Question 4

Tobacco + alcohol

Answer 4

smokers who also drink to excess are most at risk of SCC

Question 5

Sunlight

Answer 5

in fair skinned people, associated with SCC affecting lower lip

Question 6

Diet

Answer 6

research is on going into links between SCC + diets high in fats + red meat, or low in vitamin A + iron intake

Question 7

Genetics

Answer 7

some people are genetically predisposed to developing SCC as with other types of cancer

Question 8

The signs + symptoms of SCC may be

Answer 8

and may be looked for during exam by dentist:

Question 9

1.

Answer 9

painless ulcer has no obvious cause + fails to heal fully within 2-3 weeks

Question 10

2.

Answer 10

in particular, an ulcer occurring beneath or on side of tongue, or on floor of mouth

Question 11

3.

Answer 11

obvious oral ulcer with raised + roller edges with no obvious cause

Question 12

4.

Answer 12

presence of white or red patch of oral mucosa membrane that is associated with the ulcer (leukoplakia + erythroplakia)

Question 13

Any suspicious lesions

Answer 13

must be referred to oral surgery hospital department for investigation.

Question 14

The aggressive surgical trt

Answer 14

will be carried out by maxillofacial surgeons, + often involves removal of large sections of jaw + facial bones + their surrounding soft tissues depending on position of cancer + its depth + area spread