City of Riposto
Specialist office of Oral Surgery and Odontostomatology
Dr. Giovanni Scalisi
...If you are aged between 40 and 75, take a few minutes for your future, book your free screening…
EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF ORAL CAVITY CANCER
Squamous cell carcinoma is the most frequent malignant tumor in the oral cavity; it can arise in any area of the mouth, presenting as an ulcer (loss of tissue), a nodule (a more or less hard mass within the tissues), or a growth (rapidly growing outgrowth). Epidemiological data indicate that this neoplasm ranks eighth among all malignant tumors in men and eleventh in women.
The prognosis of oral carcinoma is decidedly poor when the disease is diagnosed at an advanced stage; metastases mainly spread via the lymphatic system to the lymph nodes of the neck, and secondary tumors via the bloodstream are mainly located in the lungs.
Survival studies show data around 54% in women and 41% in men; early diagnosis of the disease allows survival rates to increase up to 80-90%. Unfortunately, to date, in the majority of cases, the diagnosis of oral cavity carcinoma is made at an advanced stage, and the delay leads to rather invasive therapies that result in poor quality of life and difficult palliative care.
Diagnostic suspicion can be formulated on the basis of a simple but careful clinical examination of the oral cavity; it is up to the specialist to select patients who require further diagnostic investigations and/or a timely clinical evaluation. This approach is in line with the operational guidelines of the WHO (World Health Organization), which reiterates that the fundamental strategic factor for improving the prognosis of the disease is absolutely its early diagnosis.