Oral cancer

The survival of patients with oral cancer remains poor despite recent surgical advances. About 30-40%of patients with intra-oral cancers will survive five years; the short survival time is caused, largely, by late detection.1 Public awareness of oral cancer as compared with other cancers is low and this contributes to delays in diagnosis.2 However, the mouth can be examined by healthcare professionals with much greater ease and accuracy than many other parts of the body. All healthcare workers need to be aware that a patient with an ulcer or white patch that persists beyond three weeks should be referred for further evaluation to an oral physician or to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Tobacco use is a major cause of oral cancer and doctors and other health professionals can contribute to primary prevention by making patients aware that tobacco, in all forms, predisposes them to oral cancer.