Cancer of the Mouth

Symptoms

Cancer of the mouth, also sometimes referred to as cancer of the oral cavity, includes cancer of the lips, tongue, soft and hard palate and floor of the mouth. All of these sites are easily visible and readily accessible, therefore any abnormal areas which persist more than two weeks must be reported. Such abnormalities include a swelling or a lump, a rough patch, brown or black spots, a sore that does not heal, or continuous bleeding. The diagnosis is made by a biopsy.

A leucoplakia, which is a thickened piece of epithelium, appears as a white patch in the membranes covering the tongue, lip or floor of the mouth. It is not malignant but may develop into cancer. Anyone with a leucoplakia must stop smoking or the chances of developing cancer in the mouth will be even greater. Any such persistent white patch must be biopsied and checked regularly for the possible development of cancer.

Treatment

Surgery is used in many cases to remove the tumour; often the nearby lymph nodes are removed at the same time. Radiotherapy is the alternative treatment, given either by external radiation or, as in the case of tongue cancer, implanting radioactive sources into the growth (called interstitial radiation therapy).

Radiotherapy is sometimes used before an operation to shrink a large tumour to a more operable size. At times post-operative radiotherapy is employed for cancer cells the surgeon could not reach at operation. The side-effects of radiotherapy are difficulty in chewing and swallowing, a reduction of the amount of saliva in the mouth and a loss of sense of smell and taste. Such symptoms are only temporary- and their duration depends on the size of area treated and X-ray dose administered. Complete recovery usually takes between four and six months.

Chemotherapy is rarely used in cancer of the oral cavity. The best results of treatment are obtained when the tumour is small and there are no nearby enlarged lymph nodes.