Mouth cancer starts in the mouth’s lining. It’s sometimes called oral cancer. This disease is serious and affects health and well-being. Knowing about its symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment options is key. It helps in early detection and managing the illness well.
Key Takeaways:
- Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer or oral cavity cancer, is a type of cancer that affects the lining of the mouth.
- The main risk factors for mouth cancer include tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and HPV infection.
- Symptoms of mouth cancer may include abnormal patches or raised bumps in the mouth, hardened and raised lumps.
- Early detection and diagnosis of mouth cancer are essential for effective treatment and better outcomes.
- Surgery is the primary treatment for mouth cancer, and stem cell therapy is being explored as a potential option.
Causes and Diagnosis of Mouth Cancer
Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer, is a serious illness. It affects the oral cavity. Knowing what causes it and diagnosing it early are key in treating it well.
Risk Factors for Mouth Cancer
The top cause of mouth cancer is using tobacco. Being around the chemicals in tobacco a lot can make getting cancer more likely. This includes chemicals like aromatic amines and nitrosamines. Drinking alcohol, especially when also using tobacco, makes the risk even higher.
HPV infection, specifically types 16 and 18, can also lead to some cancers like oral mucosa cancer. HPV is a type of infection spread through sex. It affects the mouth and throat.
Diagnosing Mouth Cancer
Diagnosing mouth cancer starts with a careful look by a dentist or doctor. They will do several checks and tests. This is to find out if and how bad the cancer is. Tests and checks may involve:
- Assessment of signs and symptoms: The healthcare professional will check your mouth for any odd patches, lumps, or other strange changes. They will ask if you have any ongoing symptoms.
- Medical history: Talking about your medical history helps the doctor understand more. This includes if you smoke, drink a lot, or have had HPV. It helps to know these things for figuring out if you might have mouth cancer.
- Physical examination: They will look carefully at your mouth, tongue, and other parts inside. This is to see if they notice anything that might be cancer.
- Exfoliative cytology: This means taking some cells from your mouth to check them. It can show if there are any cells that could become cancer or if they are already cancerous. This helps with finding cancer early.
- Biopsy: When they see something in the exam that might be cancer, they might take a small tissue sample. It’s then looked at under a microscope. This is how they can tell for sure if it’s cancer or not.
- Imaging tests: Sometimes, tests like CT scans, PET scans, MRI scans, X-rays, or ultrasounds are needed. These tests can show more details about the cancer. They help figure out the size and the area affected by the cancer.
Being quick and accurate with the diagnosis is very important. It helps make a good treatment plan. And it increases the chance of beating mouth cancer.
Treatment and Outlook for Mouth Cancer
Mouth cancer often needs surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy to treat it. Each aims to remove the cancer and stop it from spreading.
Surgery is the main way to treat mouth cancer. It cuts out the cancerous tissue. Sometimes, surgery is followed by other treatments like radiotherapy or chemotherapy. These help kill any cancer cells left and lower the chance of it coming back.
The chances of beating mouth cancer depend on various things. This includes when it’s found, if it has spread, and how it’s treated. Localized mouth cancer has a high survival rate – 86.6% in five years. But if it has spread, the rate drops to 39.3%. Keep in mind, these numbers are general and might differ for each person.
Doctors are always looking for new ways to treat mouth cancer. One possible new treatment is stem cell therapy. It uses stem cells to fix damaged tissues and make new, healthy cells. This method is still in the testing phase but shows potential to offer better outcomes for mouth cancer.