Early detection of oral cancer: Duties of a dental surgeon

More deadly than breast, cervical, and prostate cancer, it has been estimated that oral cancer kills one person every hour, every day.[1,2] Studies suggest that head and neck cancer and tongue cancer in particular is increasing in young adults both nationally and internationally.[3] Most important step in reducing the death rate from oral cancer is early diagnosis. Oral examination by a health care professional is the most effective way to identify suspicious lesions in their early stage. No group of medical professionals has a better opportunity to have a positive impact on early detection than dental surgeons. The overall 5 year survival rate is 75% for those with localized diseases at diagnosis but only 16% for patients with late stages because in the majority of cases the cancer is diagnosed at Stage 3 or 4 with lymph node metastasis.[4,5] Only about 1/3rd of all oral cancers are detected in Stage 1.