Oral Cancer

What is Oral Cancer?

Head and neck cancers include a variety of cancer types, including mouth cancer. Similar to other head and neck cancers, mouth cancer is often treated with the same approach. Any part of the mouth, including the oral cavity, can develop into mouth cancer. One can develop mouth cancer on any of the following surfaces:

• Gums Tongue Lips
• the upper part of the mouth
• the inside surface of your cheeks
• beneath your tongue or the floor of your mouth

Asarfi oncology department excels at offering top-notch cancer treatment because of their combined more than 30 years of clinical excellence. Our oncologists and onco-surgeons treat all types and forms of cancer using a multidisciplinary approach. They are assisted by a team of highly skilled reconstructive surgeons who treat all of our patients, both adults and children, with extensive care, as well as by the newest cancer treatment technologies.

Types

Carcinomas with Squamous Cells

In the oral cavity, squamous cell carcinomas comprise over 90% of all malignancies. Normally, the mouth and throat are surrounded by squamous cells, which are microscopic, flat cells that resemble fish scales. Scrambling cell cancer arises when certain squamous cells undergo mutations and turn abnormal.

Verrucous Carcinoma

Approximately 5% of cancers affecting the oral cavity are verrucous carcinomas, a type of squamous cell cancer that grows relatively slowly. Although it rarely spreads to other parts of the body, this kind of oral cancer can penetrate nearby tissue.

Grasping Salivary Gland Cancers

This disease pertains to a range of cancers of the mouth and throat that may develop on the small salivary glands scattered along the walls of the mouth and throat. These cancers include polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma, and adenonoid cystic carcinoma.'

Cystic Adenoid Tumour

This is an uncommon tumour that develops from glandular tissue in the mouth or salivary glands. The parotid gland is where this type of cancer is most frequently found.

Leukaemia

One kind of oral cancer that arises in immune system-related lymph tissue is called lymphoma. The tonsils and base of the tongue both contain lymphocytic tissue.

Melanoma

The pigment-producing cells in the skin that give it its colour are the source of melanomas. Anywhere on the skin, including the inside of the nose and mouth (oral cavity), can develop melanomas of the head and neck.

Non-Cancerous Tumours of the Oral Cavity

Several tumor-like conditions and non-cancerous tumours can arise in the oropharynx and oral cavity. Cancer may develop from these illnesses on occasion. Benign tumours are therefore often surgically removed.

Erythroplakia and Leukoplakia

Non-cancerous disorders called leukoplakia and erythroplakia occur in the mouth or throat when specific types of aberrant cells manifest. Leukoplakia develops as a white area, whereas erythroplakia appears as a red spot that is usually flat or slightly elevated and bleeds when scraped. Both conditions have the potential to develop into cancer because they are precancerous.

Symptoms

Some indications and symptoms of oral cancer include the following:

• A chronic ache in the mouth or on the lip
• An area that is white or reddish on the inside of your mouth
• loose teeth
• A growth or lump inside your mouth
• A toothache or earache
• It hurts or is difficult to swallow

Causes

Mutations in the DNA of cells on the lips or in the mouth are the root cause of mouth cancers. A cell's instructions for what to do are encoded in its DNA. Mutations instruct cells to continue proliferating and dividing when healthy cells would otherwise die. When abnormal mouth cancer cells build up, a tumour may result. Over time, they may move from inside the mouth to other areas of the head and neck, as well as other body parts.

Most mouth cancers begin in the thin, flat cells called squamous cells that line your lips and the interior of your mouth. Most malignancies of the mouth are squamous cell carcinomas:

Extra Risk Elements

• It is forbidden to use tobacco products of any kind, including snuff, chewing tobacco, pipes, cigars, and cigarettes.
• Drinking too much alcohol
• Lips that have had excessive exposure to the sun
• One sexually transmitted virus is the human papillomavirus (HPV).
• Dysfunction of the immune system

Stages

Four stages are distinguished in oral cancer:

• Stage I: The tumour has not spread to the lymph nodes and has a diameter of no more than two centimetres.
• Stage II: The cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes and has a diameter of 2-4 cm.
• Stage III: The tumour is either larger than 4 cm and has not reached any lymph nodes, or it can be of any size and has reached one lymph node without reaching any other body parts.
• Stage IV: Cancer cells have spread to neighbouring tissues, lymph nodes, or other parts of the body, and tumours of any size have grown to encompass these areas.

Diagnosis

In addition to a physical examination and a tissue biopsy, your doctor might perform one or more of the following tests:

• To find out if cancer cells have spread to the chest, lungs, or jaw, X-rays are utilised
• A PET scan to determine whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes or other organs, and a CT scan to check for tumours in the mouth, throat, neck, lungs, or other areas of your body.
• A an MRI scan to assess the size or stage of the cancer and to acquire a more precise image of the head and neck.
• A There will also be a trach endoscopy, inner throat endoscopy, windpipe endoscopy, sinus endoscopy, and nasal endoscopy.

Treatment

The type, location, and stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis all affect the course of oral cancer treatment:

• Surgery: Early stage surgery often involves the removal of the tumour and any malignant lymph nodes. It's possible to remove additional tissue from the lips and neck area.
• Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is an additional option to consider. A physician will apply radiation therapy to the tumour once or twice a day, five days a week, for a duration of two to eight weeks. In the later stages of cancer treatment, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are commonly used treatments.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a medication-based therapy used to eradicate cancer cells. The medication can be administered intravenously (IV) or orally. While some patients do need to be hospitalised, most patients receive chemotherapy as outpatients.
• Target therapy: Targeted therapy is an additional modality of treatment. Cancer in both its early and advanced stages can be treated with it. Targeted therapy medications attach to particular proteins on cancer cells to stop their growth.