Oral Cancer Treatment

Oral Cancer is a type of cancer that can occur anywhere in the mouth, on the surface of the tongue, the lips, inside the cheek, in the gums, in the roof and floor of the mouth, in the tonsils, and in the salivary glands.
SYMPTOMS

• Mouth ulcers or sores that do not heal
• Patches on the lining of the mouth or tongue, usually red or red and white in color
• Swelling that persists for over 3 weeks
• Pain in the neck or ear that does not go away
• Poorly fitting dentures
• Jaw pain or stiffness
• Painful tongue
• A lump or thickening of the skin or lining of the mouth
• Pain when swallowing
• Loose teeth with no apparent reason
• Sore throat
• A sensation that something is stuck in the throat
• Hoarse voice

DIAGNOSIS

• Endoscopy, in which the doctor passes a lighted scope down the throat to see how far, has the cancer spread.

TREATMENT

• Surgery – Surgical removal of the tumor involves taking out the tumor and a margin of healthy tissue around it. A small tumor will require minor surgery, but for larger tumors, surgery may involve removing some of the tongue or the jawbone. However there are different types of surgeries for different mouth cancers like-
• Tumor resection – In a tumor resection, the entire tumor and an area of normal-appearing tissue around it is removed. The area of normal tissue is removed to reduce the chance of any cancer cells being left behind.
• Mohs micrographic surgery (for some cancers of the lip) – Some cancers of the lip may be removed by Mohs surgery, also known as micrographic surgery. The tumor is removed in very thin slices. Each slice is looked at right away under the microscope to see if there are cancer cells. More slices are removed and examined until no cancer cells are seen.
• Glossectomy (removal of the tongue) – Glossectomy may be needed to treat cancer of the tongue. For smaller cancers, only part of the tongue may need to be removed called partial glossectomy. For larger cancers, the entire tongue may need to be removed total glossectomy.
• Mandibulectomy (removal of the jaw bone) – For a mandibulectomy the surgeon removes all or part of the jaw bone.
• Maxillectomy – If cancer has grown into the hard palate, all or part of the involved bone which is maxilla will need to be removed. This operation is called a maxillectomy or partial maxillectomy.
• Laryngectomy (removal of the voice box) – A Very rare surgery performed to remove large tumors of the tongue or oropharynx may also require removing tissue that a person needs to swallow normally. As a result, food may enter the windpipe (trachea) and reach the lungs, where it can cause pneumonia. When this is a significant risk, sometimes the voice box (larynx) is removed during the same operation as the one to remove the cancer. Removal of the larynx is called a laryngectomy.
• Neck Dissection, which is performed to remove the lymph node affected by the cancer.
• Radiation Therapy – Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays or particles to destroy cancer cells or slow their rate of growth. Radiation therapy can be used in several situations for oral and oropharyngeal. Radiation therapy can also be used to relieve symptoms of more advanced cancer, such as pain, bleeding, trouble swallowing, and problems caused by bone metastases. The two common types of radiotherapy performed to cure cancer are:
• External beam radiation therapy – The most common way to give radiation for these cancers is to carefully focus a beam of radiation from a machine outside the body. This is known as external beam radiation therapy. To reduce the risk of side effects, doctors carefully figure out the exact dose needed and aim the beam as accurately as they can to hit the carefully outlined target.
• Brachytherapy – Another way to deliver radiation is by placing radioactive materials directly into or near the cancer. This method is called internal radiation, interstitial radiation, or Brachytherapy. The radiation travels only a very short distance, which limits its effects on nearby normal tissues. Brachytherapy is not used often to treat oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancers because newer external radiation approaches, such as IMRT, are now very precise. When Brachytherapy is used, it is most often combined with external radiation to treat early lip or mouth cancers.
• Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs to treat cancer. For oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers, the drugs are given into a vein or taken by mouth, which allows them to enter the bloodstream and reach cancer that has spread to organs beyond the head and neck.