Introduction

Cancer as usually known is a condition that is often characterized by uncontrolled cells growth which in turn invades other tissues of the body. Such growth in most instances tends to form in the mouth resulting in a condition commonly identified as oral cancer. Some of the sections of the mouth where this type of cancer tend to invade include tongue, lips, soft and hard palates, throat sinuses among many other regions within the mouth . Studies conducted over these years have ranked oral cancers as the most common life-threatening form of cancer in the world.

It is a condition that if not diagnosed or poorly progressed can lead to early death of the patient or can worsen to a stage where it is not treatable. Hence people are always advised to take note of the various symptom associated with this condition .  These common symptoms usually include, blood in the mouth, ear pain, dramatic weight loss, swollen gums, lips and other sections of the mouth, loss of feeling, sores that persist on the neck, mouth patches, chronic sore throat, face and or mouth and lastly difficulties felt during speaking, swallowing and speaking.

Types of Oral Cancer

Oral cancer usually occurs in different forms. According to CTCA cancer experts, various types of oral cancers have over the years been discovered through an intensive disease staging and diagnosis. It is through such diagnosis that various treatments plans have always been tailored for each oral cancer . The different forms of this cancer usually include the squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma, verrucous carcinoma, and salivary gland carcinoma. Others include benign tumors of the oral cavity, mouth cancer, mouth cancers as well as erythroplakia and leukoplakia. As stipulated in the studies, 90% of squamous cell carcinoma tends to occur within the mouth cavity. During its occurrence, the squamous cells tend to align themselves in areas around the mouth and throat.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma- The Tonsil

The verrucous carcinoma cancer on the other hand always forms about 5% of the total oral cavity tumors cells . This oral cancer is always known to be slow in growth despite having little components of squamous. When it occurs, it rarely spreads, and that explains the reason why it often invades tissues around it.

Verrucous carcinoma

A salivary gland carcinoma is also a form of oral cancer that tends to invade the minor salivary gland located along the throat and salivary glands . This disease usually encompasses other forms of oral cancers such as mucoepidermoid carcinoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Salivary gland tumors

Besides, the Lymphoma is another common oral cancer that always forms around the lymph tissues especially in the section of the tongue and the tonsils where lymphoid tissues are always found .

Tonsil Lymphoma

Benign tumors of the oral cavity are equally known to develop into cancer if no action is taken to manage them by removing the tumors surgically. Some of the benign lesion associated with these conditions usually include fibroma, granular cell tumors, Lipoma, leiomyoma, neurofibroma among many others. The Leukoplakia and erythroplakia are also non-cancerous conditions that always forms when there is abnormal cell growth within the throat or mouth . These two conditions are always precancerous, in the sense that they have a higher chance of developing into cancer. Studies show that erythroplakia is always considered to be more severe as compared to leukoplakia.

The next common oral cancer known to affect most men is lip cancer. According to studies squamous cell which is a category of lip cancer tend to be most common as compared to the basal cell . The symptom associated with this type of cancer usually includes a persistent toothache, lip sore, lip numbness, lip swelling, and neck mass among many others.

Lip cancer

The last form of oral cancer is Mouth cancer, which is known to develop on any sections of the mouth . Patients suffering from this condition tend to exhibit various symptom with the most common one being the mouth sores. Other symptoms associated with mouth cancers usually include jaw and tongue pain, thickening or lump forming inside the mouth, difficulty chewing food or swallowing, red or white patches on the tonsil, tongue, gums and mouth linings. Lastly, the patients would experience difficulties moving both the tongue and jaws.

Mouth cancer

Occurrence/ Prevalence of Oral Cancer

As reported in various studies, oral cancer becomes one of the most common life-threatening conditions in the world. In the survey conducted by American cancer society, men especially those who have attained the age of 50 and above are always considered to be more vulnerable to developing this condition as compared to women .  The 2014 study showed that approximately 40,000 U.S. were diagnosed with this condition. During such study, several risk factors were found to have connections with oral cancer. Some of these risk factors identified include smoking cigar, cigarette or pipe smokers, consuming excess alcohol, family cancer history, excessive exposure to the sun at an early age, and lastly the presence of human papillomavirus also known as HPV.

Statically looking at the occurrence of these conditions, studies show that in the early years, the presence of oral cancer in the western world was relatively uncommon especially within the US and Great Britain. However as the world continues to develop, people have been exposed to many of the risk factors mentioned above which has effectively increased the occurrences of the disease . In the US, the rate of oral cancer occurrence has risen dramatically with varying socioeconomic trends being noticed in other European countries. Similar study reports about the worldwide prevalence of oral cancer have estimated that over 400,000 people will have undergone oral cancers diagnosis by 2020.

In the US, 2018 study reports estimate that close to 53000 new oral cancer cases will be diagnosed with 9700 American expected succumb to such conditions within a year. Besides, the study continues to postulates that out of the American expected to be diagnosed, half of them, which constitutes a percentage of 57 will have perished by the year 2023. Despite the expected increased mortality rates, studies show that the survival rates would equally improve owing to HPV16 increase which tends to be vulnerable to the modality of treatments that exist . However, such survival rate improvements do not change the position of oral cancer as the most prevalent form of cancer in the world. If the definitions of this conditions are expanded to cover larynx and oropharyngeal cancer, then the case of people expected to be diagnosed in the coming years would increase to 54, 000 while yearly mortality rates would be 13, 500 in united states.

Oral Cancer Treatments

Oral cancer treatments usually begin after a definitive diagnosis is done to identify the type as well as the stage of the condition. According to studies, this kind of treatment is always multidisciplinary in the sense that it often involves various efforts specifically from radiations oncologists, surgeons, dental practitioners, restorative specialists, nutritionists among many others . The most common form of treatments offered to patients with oral cancers is always chemotherapy.  This curative treatment modality is mostly used alongside other forms of treatment such as surgery and radiotherapy. Other contemporary modes of treatment equally used to treat oral cancer include targeted therapy, nutrition, and hygiene maintenance especially the mouth.

By looking at each of the various methods used to treat cancer, it becomes clear that surgery treatments are always recommended while dealing with cancerous lymph nodes and tumor during the early stages. The second mode of medications which is radiation therapy is mostly offered during the advanced stages of the condition. In such instances, chemotherapy mode of treatments is usually used alongside . Chemotherapy, on the other hand, is drug therapy which is usually administered to patients to help kill cells that cause cancer. This medicine is generally offered either through intravenous injections or orally through the mouth. Another form of treatments usually offered to these cancer patients is targeted therapy. According to studies, this modality of treatments usually works best both during the early stages and advanced stages of the condition.

The treatments always work by realizing specific proteins that bind on cancer cells which in turn affects their growth.  Nutrition is also regarded as an essential form of oral cancer treatments. This is because other procedures always pose challenges to patients as it makes it hard to swallow or eat specific food resulting in weight loss and poor appetite . Hence, oral cancer patients especially those with oral conditions are advised to seek help on a diet from their nutritionists who can develop a food plan that works well with their conditions as they recover. Lastly, patients are equally advised to maintain the hygiene of their mouth by always keeping them clean. Studies show that maintaining the health of the mouth during treatments is critical during treatments. The patients must always ensure that their mouth is cleaned and most importantly their gums and teeth are kept clean.

Appliances prescribed post treatment

Usually, after oral cancer treatments are offered, reconstructions and rehabilitation of the patients is usually organized. This because patients diagnosed with advanced cases of oral cancers generally need some reconstructive surgery as well as rehabilitation to help them learn how to speak and eat as they recover . The process of reconstruction in mots instance tend to include placing grafts or dental implants to repair bones and the missing tissues in the faces or mouth. Some of the appliances commonly used during such moments include artificial palates which often help in replacing the teeth and the tissues that are missing.

In other cases where radiation therapy is used, temporomandibular joint tend to be affected reducing the ability of the mouth to vertically open. As stipulated in studies, such limitations within the mouth may, in turn, interfere with dental treatment and proper oral hygiene practices . In order these complications, opening applies such as dynamic bite and tongue blades are commonly used to help maximize the opening of the mandibular.  Aside from reconstructions, rehabilitation is always recommended during advanced cases.  For instance, it is believed that speech therapy would be significant during such moments of recovery.

 
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