Oral cancer is a collective term for malignant tumors in many parts of the oral cavity. Broadly speaking, oral cancer refers to cancers occurring below the orbit and above the neck, such as maxillary sinus, subauricular salivary gland, and sublingual salivary gland. Oral cancer in a narrow sense includes all tissue cells that can be seen in the oral cavity, including the tongue, floor of the mouth, lips, gums, oral cheek membrane and palate. Therefore, oral cancer can be divided into lip cancer, tongue cancer, buccal mucosa cancer, gum cancer, hard and soft palate cancer, jaw cancer, floor of mouth cancer, hard palate cancer, salivary cancer, maxillary sinus cancer and cancers occurring in the skin and mucous membrane of face and face according to different locations.
Oral cancer is one of the more common malignant tumors of the head and neck, ranking second only to nasopharyngeal cancer, with a higher incidence in India and Southeast Asia. Phosphor carcinoma is the most common pathological type of oral cancer, accounting for 90%-95%, and biopsy can confirm the diagnosis.
Risk factors.
1.Excessive sunlight exposure: such as outdoor workers, farmers and employees are prone to lip cancer.
2.Smoking, especially those who use cigars or pipes are more prone to cancer. Data show that the risk of oral cancer and lip cancer in smokers is three times higher than that in nonsmokers, and the habit of chewing tobacco and betel nut in Southeast Asia increases the basal cell division activity of oral mucosa epithelium and increases the incidence of oral cancer. Some studies show that the risk of oral cancer for smokers and drinkers is 4-6 times higher than that for non-smokers and non-drinkers, and the risk of oral cancer can be 7.38 times higher if smokers smoke 15 cigarettes and drink 2 taels of alcohol per day.
3, precancerous lesions, such as oral leukoplakia, erythema, flat moss, oral submucosal erythema degeneration, oral mucosal atrophic lesions, etc., can cause oral mucosa to have different degrees of keratinization and hyperplasia, and cancerous changes can occur. ~6% higher. Therefore, regardless of the duration of oral mucosal leukoplakia, long-term follow-up is needed for early detection of cancerous lesions, and Silverman et al. also pointed out that in addition to mucosal leukoplakia, proliferative erythema is more dangerous, and its malignancy is almost four times that of patients with leukoplakia. Kramer et al. reported that patients with leukoplakia of the tongue and floor of the mouth, with an average follow-up of 4.3 years, had 15% of cancerous lesions, and the cancerous lesions of red and white spots were 5 times higher than those of white spots. Biopsy of red and white spots should be taken from the erythematous area as much as possible, and the positive rate is higher in this area.
4.Uneven teeth, unsuitable denture, root remnants and crown remnants of teeth, sharp tip stimulation can cause traumatic ulcers, which can also cause cancer if not treated for a long time.
5, poor oral hygiene, for bacteria or mold in the oral cavity breeding, breeding conditions, thus facilitating the formation of nitrosamines and their precursors. Coupled with stomatitis, some cells are in proliferative state and more sensitive to carcinogens, so all these reasons may promote the occurrence of oral cancer. In addition, some non-specific infections, such as Candida albicans infection and herpes virus infection, can lead to proliferative stomatitis and then carcinogenesis.
6.Long-term stimulation by overheating, over-hot and spicy stimulating diet is also one of the factors for the occurrence of oral cancer.
7.Malnutrition: it is related to the lack of vitamin A, because vitamin A has the role of maintaining the normal structure and function of epithelium, and vitamin A deficiency can cause the thickening of oral mucosa epithelium and hyperkeratosis, which is related to the occurrence of oral cancer. Demographic studies have shown a high incidence of oral cancer in countries with low vitamin A intake. Vitamin C deficiency has not been shown to be related to oral cancer. It has also been suggested that the occurrence of oral cancer is related to insufficient intake of micronutrients. For example, low iron content in food, insufficient intake of total protein and animal protein may be related to oral cancer. Zinc is an indispensable element for the growth of animal tissues, and zinc deficiency may lead to mucosal epithelial damage and create favorable conditions for the occurrence of oral cancer.
8.Alcohol gargle: A study in the United States shows that the risk of oral cancer increases when the alcohol content in gargles exceeds 25%. The longer and more often the gargle is used, the higher the risk is, especially when high concentration of alcohol is used to treat oral white spots, which are more likely to develop cancer.
Danger signs.
1.Unexplained lumps in the mouth and head and neck, hard and fixed in texture.
2, tongue movement and perception abnormalities: tongue mobility is restricted, resulting in difficulty in chewing, swallowing or speaking, or loss of perception or numbness of the tongue hemilateral, the cause should be identified as soon as possible.
3.Palatal bone and dental abnormalities: localized enlargement of the palatal bone, resulting in asymmetry between the left and right sides of the face, sometimes combined with abnormal perception, or tooth movement and other symptoms.
4.Sclerosis and ulcers of oral mucosa, which are ineffective after more than 2 weeks of general treatment.
5.Nasal congestion with blood.
6.Heartiness and facial numbness.
7.Mucosal erythema, white spots and other precancerous lesions.
Oral cancer is often painless at the early stage, so it is not easy to attract patients’ attention, or although patients find some abnormalities, they hope they can disappear on their own. The best treatment for oral cancer is surgical removal. However, generally when oral cancer is diagnosed, the best time for surgery is often missed. At this time, even if surgery is possible, it will cause damage to the oral cavity due to the large area of surgery and cannot restore the normal function and shape. Therefore, early detection becomes an important prerequisite for the treatment of oral cancer. Self-examination is a simple and effective method for early detection. Such self-examination should be carried out regularly and frequently. You can examine the mirror alone or ask others to help you. Especially for older men who are frequent smokers and drinkers and those who wear denture, they should do self-examination regularly. The methods are as follows.
1.Check the face and neck When checking the neck, tilt your head back as far as possible to see if there are any abnormalities in the jawbone area and neck; then touch the neck and jawbone area on the left and right sides respectively with your hands to try to see if there is any difference in sensation on both sides.
2, check the lips first with the eyes to observe the outer side of the upper and lower lips, and then touch them with your hands. Then pull the lower lip downward with the thumb and index finger to check the inner side, and finally check the inner side of the upper lip.
3.Check the gums pull open the lips of the mouth to check the gums and touch them with the index finger to see if they are the same as in the last check.
4.Check the cheek lightly shut up, put the thumb and index finger on the corner of the mouth and pull it outward, observe with your eyes, while touching the side cheek with your hand to see if there is any abnormality.
5.Check the tongue stick out the tongue, grasp the tip of the tongue with the hand pad of gauze, observe and touch the tongue surface, and pull the tongue to the left and right side respectively to observe both sides of the tongue.
6.Check the base of the tongue. Lift the tongue up against the palate as much as possible and observe and touch the base of the tongue to check for abnormalities.
7.Check the pharynx and palate by making the “ah” sound and observing the pharynx in the light; then tilt the head back slightly and observe and touch the palate.
If the following abnormalities are found during self-examination, it is better to ask an experienced oncologist for examination in order to determine the cause of the disease and provide timely treatment.
(1) The presence of lumps and nodules.
(2) The presence of white, smooth, scaly plaques.
(3) Those who have red plaques, ulcerated inflammation, etc. and cannot be healed for a long time.
(4) Repeated bleeding in the mouth with no obvious cause.
(5) Numbness, burning or dryness in the mouth without obvious reasons.
(6) Difficulty or abnormality in speaking or swallowing.