Oral cancer: its first signs and risk factors

Of the 18,000 diagnosed annually in Lithuania. more than 300 new cancer cases are oral cancers.

As dentist Auristida Gerliakienė, a doctor at the Head, Neck and Skin Tumors Department of the National Cancer Institute, told Delfi, the risk of oral cancer is increased by a number of factors, primarily alcohol consumption, smoking, and chewing tobacco, which are currently becoming popular among young people. It is dangerous if there are many foci of infection in the mouth, so hygiene is important because it is “one of the factors that can reduce the risk of cancer. The teeth must also be properly prosthetic and repaired.”

The doctor also singled out harmful factors associated with the work of certain professions – such as asbestos dust or, if a person works a lot outdoors, long exposure to the sun – “this can provoke lip cancer”. Finally, various precancerous conditions can become malignant if left untreated.

Monitoring is also very important for people to monitor their health and well-being. The doctor sees a trend that has become regular – “people don’t notice, don’t see, don’t pay attention, and usually it’s not even themselves, but their family members who are worried about the problem and send them to the doctor for consultation”.

The first signs of oral cancer: a wound, bleeding, pain, there may be swelling, if neither of these causes the teeth to loosen or the jaw deforms or the face deforms.

“In the area related to the mouth, there are many anatomical structures – mucous membrane, salivary glands, muscles, lymph nodes, teeth, and jaws. Any of these structures can lead to oncological disease, so systematic visits to the dentist or oral hygienist are important – these specialists can notice,” emphasized the doctor.

“One of the essential factors is that if a wound in the mouth does not heal for more than two weeks, it should be a call to consult a specialist and seek help. Because usually, whether it is a viral infection or an injury, it really heals within a week or two. And cancerous diseases start either from precancerous diseases or from wounds that do not heal for a long time”, A. Gerliakienė named the signs of oral cancer.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause not only cervical cancer and colon cancer, but also esophageal cancer.

A. Gerliakienė was happy that since February 1 of last year, both boys and girls have been vaccinated against HPV en masse, and added that it is necessary to publicize the dangers of this virus as much as possible so that “parents know, because among young people who neither consume alcohol nor smoke, the prevalence of cancer is quite high.” The doctor mentioned noticing a sharp decrease in the number of vaccinations and the skeptic attitude of parents towards them due to “various myths and propaganda about vaccinations” and said that she wanted this attitude to change.

With the goal of improving the situation of people with oral oncology, the National Cancer Institute (NVI), the Dental Chamber of the Republic of Lithuania and the Oncology Patient Support Association (POLA) have decided to join forces and cooperate on issues of oral health care for oncology patients, and their plans are to create a network of dental institutions that are friendly to oncology patients and presented the competence center to specialists at a press conference.

A healthy mouth is important for every person, especially for cancer patients. “When an oncological patient begins active treatment, he receives chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and the absolute majority of dental treatment procedures are not possible, that is, if it was not done before the treatment [pradžios], we have to use extreme measures to extinguish the fire, when treatment is already impossible and can be dangerous not only to health, but also to life,” said Prof. Dr. Vilma Brukiene.

According to the professor, knowledge about this is lacking not only for patients, but also for doctors, so the aim will be to unite specialists and dental institutions and create a network of dental institutions favorable to oncology patients.

“We dentists know our field, oncologists know their field, but mutual cooperation is needed so that medical doctors know when to refer to a dentist, and dentists know how to recognize the signs of what is happening in the mouth and refer to doctors in time.” <...> If oncological treatment causes complications in the mouth, which certainly happens, doctors should have enough knowledge and dare to treat those pathologies”, said V. Brukienė.

Head of the National Cancer Institute, Assoc. Dr. At the press conference, Valdas Pečeliūnas presented plans for coordination between medical specialists treating oncology and dentists, maxillofacial surgeons, and coordination is necessary, according to him, because “cancer treatment methods are constantly changing, complications related to oral health, specific problems and their the list of solutions is constantly changing.”

According to V. Pečeliūnas, there is currently no clearly defined patient path to solving oral problems, and specialists lack a knowledge sharing format and internship opportunities. “NVI undertakes to ensure the preparation of methodological information, as well as constructive participation in optimizing the patient’s path. We hope for smooth cooperation and significant positive changes in the provision of dental care to oncology patients,” said the head of the NVI.

“Dental services are not available to every patient – although services are needed quickly, because the aim is to start the treatment of an oncological disease as soon as possible, you have to face waiting lines, not everyone can afford to pay for dental services, some specialists due to lack of specific knowledge, skills, experience, avoiding possible risks, does not accept oncology patients seeking help.

Therefore, we hope that the united efforts of our organizations that care will meet all these challenges and the patient’s path through oncological disease will become even smoother,” said POLA head Neringa Čiakienė.

During the long-term cooperation, it is desired and expected to reduce the isolation of oncology patients due to lower mobility in the regions of Lithuania, insufficient education and income, as well as to eliminate the stigmatization of these patients, to improve the quality of life of patients after oncology treatment.