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How Serious Is Mouth Cancer
By peace | July 2, 2006
Parts Of the Mouth
Oral Cavity: The oral cavity comprises the first two-thirds of the mouth. The lips, the tongue, the roof of the mouth, the inner cheek lining, the floor of the mouth, the teeth, and the gums are all considered part of the oral cavity.
Pharynx: The pharynx is the hollow tube connecting the oral cavity and the nasal cavities to the larynx and the esophagus. The pharynx is divided into the upper nasopharynx, the middle oropharynx, and the lower hypopharynx.
Esophagus: The esophagus is the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach.
Oropharynx: The oropharynx is the portion of the pharynx connected to the oral cavity.
Mouth cancer includes cancers of the tongue, gums, tonsils, lining of the mouth, lips and upper part of the throat. It can also affect the hypopharynx, which surrounds the voicebox.
Oral cancer, the sixth most common cancer, accounts for about 3.6 percent of all cancers diagnosed, with roughly 40,000 new cases of oral cancer reported annually in the United States.
The vast majority of oral cancers occur in people older than 45 years, with men being twice as likely as women to develop the disease. The most frequent oral cancer sites are the tongue, the floor of the mouth, soft palate tissues in back of the tongue, lips, and gums. If not diagnosed and treated in its early stages, oral cancer can spread, leading to chronic pain, loss of function, irreparable facial and oral disfigurement following surgery, and even death. Your general dentist can perform a thorough screening for oral cancer.
Types of Mouth and Tongue Cancer
Ninety percent of mouth and tongue cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. The remaining ten percent of mouth or tongue cancers are caused by lymphomas, adenocarcinomas, and other, less common, forms of cancer.
Although cancer of the larynx and salivary gland cancer affect the oral cavity, they are considered diseases separate from mouth cancer.
Mouth Cancer Survival Rates and Prognosis
Mouth, tongue, and oropharynx cancers generally have a poor prognosis. Approximately 8,000 Americans die every year from some form of oral cavity cancer. The overall five-year survival rate for mouth cancer is 55 percent, a statistic that has not improved in thirty years. Mouth and tongue cancer are often well advanced at the time of diagnosis, and have often metastasized beyond the oral cavity. If metastasis has occurred, the prognosis for oral cavity cancer treatment is poor. Additionally, mouth and tongue cancer have high primary tumor recurrence rates. After a successful initial mouth cancer treatment, the chance of a second oral cavity tumor developing is as high as twenty percent.
Mortality
In 2003, almost 1,600 people in the UK died from mouth cancer. Overall, death rates have improved little since the 1970s. While the death rate has halved for men in their 70s and 80s, it has steadily increased for younger men aged 30-50.
Survival
The American Cancer Society estimates about 29,370 people will be newly diagnosed with oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer in the United States in 2005 and 7,320 people will die. About 400,000 new cases are diagnosed each year worldwide.
Squamous cell cancer accounts for 90 percent of all oral malignancies. Average five-year survival rate for this form of the disease is just 54 percent — lower than many other major cancers, mostly because they are not detected until they have spread.
Survival rates vary depending on the type of mouth cancer. But for all types, survival greatly improves if the disease is detected at an early stage. For example, for patients with tumours in the mouth cavity, two-year survival rates are:
- just under 90% if detected early (stage I)
- under 50% if detected after they have spread (stage IV).
Warning Signs for Oral Cancer and Pre-Cancer
- Ulcers on the lips, gums or elsewhere inside the mouth that do not heal in 2-3 weeks
- White patches inside the mouth or on the lips
- Swelling or lumps in the mouth
- Increasing intolerance to spices
- Numbness, pain or bleeding in the mouth without apparent cause.
Mouth Cancer can be very serious; it can even be fatal. Early detection and treatment can save your life. Fortunately, not all oral lesions in the mouth are mouth cancers. If you have a persistent, abnormal lesion or growth or discoloration in your mouth, see a mouth dentists for diagnosis and treatment of mouth cancer and oral lesions.
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