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Dentist - Silver Spring, Washington D.C., Burtonsville, Kensington, Colesville, Bethesda, Columbia, Laurel, White Oak, Cloverly, College Park, Chevy Chase, Olney, and Potomac.
Oral Cancer
Did you know?
Oral cancer kills one person every hour of every day in North America Oral cancer has three times as many victims as cervical cancer You are at an increased risk of developing oral cancer if you smoke, drink alcohol, and/or are over 40 Alarmingly, while many of oral cancer victims are tobacco users, more and more are not. Recent studies have demonstrated a strong association between oropharyngeal cancer and exposure to HPV-16.
Nearly half of oral cancer patients are expected to die within 5 years of diagnosis, but it is 80 to 90% survivable if diagnosed early Unfortunately, only 35% of oral cancer cases are diagnosed in the early stages Fortunately, the VELscope System can help your dentist detect oral mucosal abnormalities that may not be visible or apparent to the naked eye, such as oral cancer or pre-malignant dysplasia
Every hour of every day in America someone dies of Oral Cancer. Oral Cancer is the sixth most common diagnosed form of cancer in the United States. Presently 30,000 patients are diagnosed annually with oral cancer. The 5-year survival rate is only 50%, accounting for 8,000 deaths each year. Oral Cancer risk factors include tobacco use, frequent and/or excessive alcohol consumption, a compromised immune system, past history of cancer, and the presence of the HPV virus. Recently however 25% of all newly diagnosed cases have been in patients under the age of forty with none of the known risk factors. Oral Cancer is one of the few cancers whose survival rate has not improved in the past 50 years. This is due primarily to the fact that during this time we have not changed the way we screen for this disease (a visual and manual examination of the oral cavity, head, and neck).
Oral Squamous Cell Carcinomas (OSCC) make up over 90% of all oral cancers, and because of its appearance it has been difficult to differentiate from the other relatively benign lesions of the oral cavity. Early OSCC and potentially malignant lesions can appear as a white patch (leukoplakia, or as a reddened area (erythroplakia), or as a red and white (erythroleukoplakia) mucosal change under standard white light examination. However, these cellular changes are often non-detectable to the human eye (even with magnification eyewear) under standard lighting conditions. Often, when the lesion becomes visible, it has advanced to invasive stages. The high mortality rate is directly related to the lack of early detection of potentially malignant lesions.
When diagnosis and treatment are performed at or before a Stage 1 carcinoma level, the survival rate is more than 90%.
The cancers which have seen a major decline in the mortality rate have included colon, cervical, and prostate cancer and the primary reason is early detection and screening.
We can make a difference in the oral cancer mortality rate.
Historically, it has been difficult to determine which abnormal tissues in the mouth are worthy of concern. The fact is, the average person routinely has conditions existing in their mouths that mimic the appearance of pre-cancerous changes, and very early cancers of the soft tissues. One study determined that the average dentist sees 3-5 patients a day who exhibit soft tissue abnormalities, most of which are benign in nature. Even the simplest things, such as a canker sore (herpes simplex), the wound left by accidentally biting the inside of your cheek, or sore spots from a poorly fitting prosthetic appliance or denture, all at first examination, share similarities with dangerous lesions. Some of these conditions cause physical discomfort, others are painless. The question is which ones deserve action, and which ones bear watching and waiting?
There has been a tendency to watch these areas over an extended period to determine if they are dangerous or not. Unfortunately, this philosophy leads to a situation in which a dangerous lesion may continue to prosper and grow into a later stage, hard to cure cancer. Any sore, discoloration, induration, prominent tissue, irritation, hoarseness, which does not resolve within a two week period on its own, with or without treatment, should be considered suspect and worthy of further examination or referral. Besides a routine visit to the dental office for regular examinations, it is the patient's responsibility to be aware of changes in their oral environment. When these changes occur, they need to be brought to the attention of a qualified dental professional for examination. The dental professional needs to be current in the knowledge base necessary to make a proper diagnosis, and be competent in the proper screening procedures to identify oral cancer.
Mortality rates associated with oral cancer have remained unchanged for over 30 years, partly due to the limitations of white light examination of the oral mucosa. This has created a dire need for an improved oral mucosal screening procedure that would make it possible for clinicians to accurately identify tissue changes at and below the surface before they become apparent under white light examination.
In response to such a need, the Vancouver-based company LED Medical Diagnostics Inc. (LED-MD) has developed the VELscope System in partnership with the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA). The technology has received over 50 million dollars in NIH and other government grants, as well as public and private equity financing to assist in its development. It is a technology platform based on the direct visualization of human tissue fluorescence and the changes in fluorescence that occur when abnormal tissue is present.
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