Oral Cancer: Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment

Excerpt

Oral cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the world, accounting for an estimated 300,000 new cases and 145,000 deaths in 2012 and 702,000 prevalent cases over a period of five years (old and new cases) (tables 5.1 and 5.2) (Bray and others 2013; Ferlay and others 2013). For this chapter, oral cancers include cancers of the mucosal lip, tongue, gum, floor of the mouth, palate, and mouth, corresponding to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision [ICD-10], codes C00, C02, C03, C04, C05, and C06, respectively. Two-thirds of the global incidence of oral cancer occurs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); half of those cases are in South Asia. India alone accounts for one-fifth of all oral cancer cases and one-fourth of all oral cancer deaths (Ferlay and others 2013).

Tobacco use, in any form, and excessive alcohol use are the major risk factors for oral cancer. With dietary deficiencies, these factors cause more than 90 percent of oral cancers. Preventing tobacco and alcohol use and increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables can potentially prevent the vast majority of oral cancers (Sankaranarayanan and others 2013). When primary prevention fails, early detection through screening and relatively inexpensive treatment can avert most deaths. However, oral cancer continues to be a major cancer in India, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and parts of South America (Forman and others 2013), where organized prevention and early detection efforts are lacking. This chapter discusses the epidemiology, prevention, early detection, and treatment of oral cancers, as well as the cost-effectiveness of interventions.