Why again Oral Cancer Day? – asks the President provocatively ANDI ETS Foundation, Evangelista Giovanni Mancini – It is a more than legitimate question after more than 18 years of commitment to raising awareness among Italian citizens and encouraging dentists to be increasingly effective in early diagnosis of mouth cancer. But it’s still not enough. The epidemiological scenario is stable but with too many cases diagnosed in the late phase, when treatment options are fewer and more invasive and five-year survival is reduced. This is reported by maxillofacial surgeons and otolaryngologists, i.e. those to whom patients turn when the lesions are symptomatic: pain, bleeding, ulcerations, difficulty swallowing. It’s already damned too late.
Data yet to be analyzed also tell us that there is negative evidence regarding the onset of cancer in young people who do not have particular risk factors such as smoking and alcohol. The data are epidemiological, only the incidence linked to the number of patients in the departments and those who are being treated is known. To have something more in-depth on the topic we will have to wait for the genetic data. At the moment the largest research centers are starting to carry out this type of study and some are already at an advanced stage with regards to results useful for understanding whether this tumor has a genetic profile the same as the smoking-related one or is something different.
Unfortunately, other factors contribute to worsening the scenario. Citizens go to the dentist less frequently: the CSS documents this in the latest report on the “Review of access to dental care in the NHS”. They give up checks and not just treatments in both the public and private sectors due to their lower spending capacity. Furthermore, in addition to smoking and alcohol, the role of the Papilloma Virus (HPV) is forcefully gaining ground not only in adults but especially in young people, more than 20% of oral cancer cases originate from this etiological agent. The sentinel dentist must be not just a slogan – concludes Mancini – but the leading professional role of our clinical activity.
Oral cancer today can essentially be divided into three types: smoking and alcohol-related cancer, the most “classic”, which affects over two-thirds of subjects; the HPV-related carcinoma, which affects the back area of the mouth and the pharynx, and then there is this new juvenile tumor which preferentially affects the lingual margin.
It should be underlined that the relevance of an early detection of the pathology can be seen from the data on the five-year survival rate, which is around 50-60%, worrying numbers because the prognosis worsens when the disease, having not been intercepted in time, it has progressed; low socio-economic status, advanced age and alcohol and tobacco consumption are risk factors in 70% of cases.
The tools used by the ANDI ETS Foundation, since the first edition dated 2007, are determined to attempt to further reduce, through early interception, the approximately 9,900 cases of cervical-facial cancer, of which over 4,000 of the oral cavity alone that occur every year they affect Italians. The incidence in Italy is 7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (8 per 100,000 in males and 5 per 100,000 in females).
The Foundation’s campaign, which refers to the National Association of Italian Dentists, will allow citizens to book a free screening visit in participating dental practices. To do so, simply go to the website www.oralcancerday.it and locate the one closest to your home from 13 May to 14 June or call the toll-free number 800 058 444.
The visit is carried out in a simple way, through an accurate check of the entire oral mucosa of the patient, with the aim of detecting the presence of any lesions, to decide if and when to report the identified laceration to the specialist and, if necessary, refer the patient to a second level structure for definitive diagnosis.
In the squares of the main Italian cities, on Saturday 11 May, info points will be set up dedicated to providing citizens all the information on the importance of periodically checking your mouth, not only for the health of your teeth. The list of squares will be available on the site www.oralcancerday.it.
