Oral cancer at a glance
The epidemiology, aetiology, pathology, precancerous lesions, principles of diagnosis, staging, metastasis and survival, individual cancers with treatment modalities, current concepts in management, rehabilitation and prevention of oral cancers are discussed.
Abstract
The term oral cancer encompasses all malignancies that originate in the oral tissues. Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral mucosa and lips, however, comprises 90-95 percent of all oral malignancies. The term "oral cancer" is used in the restricted sense to describe squamous cell carcinoma and its variant, verrucous carcinoma. The incidence of oral cancer is high in several countries. Furthermore, the intraoral location differs in different population groups. These observations in turn provide pointers towards the aetiological agents involved. As the oral cavity is easily accessible for visual examination, oral cancer can be detected at an early stage. Nevertheless, in many tropical countries, in most instance patients with this disease seek medical attention only at an advanced stage thereby leading to poor prognosis and postoperative disfigurement. Many studies, especially in Southeast Asia, have established a causal relationship between tobacco and oral cancer. In this article, an attempt has been made to discuss the epidemiology, aetiology, pathology, precancerous lesions, principles of diagnosis, staging, metastasis and survival, individual cancers with treatment modalities, current concepts in management, rehabilitation and prevention of oral cancers.