Pathologies Of The Mouth
Mouth pathologies can be benign or cancerous
Benign Pathologies
- Ulcers
- canker sores
- Leukoplakia
- Bruxism and temporomandibular pain
- lichen planus
- And many others.
Cancer pathologies
Tongue Cancer
Symptoms of Tongue Cancer
Tongue cancer can cause any combination of the following symptoms:
- Pain
- Weight loss
- Difficulty swallowing or pain (dysphagia or odynophagia)
- Earache (otalgia)
- Cough with blood (hemoptysis)
- Hoarse voice and difficulty speaking
- Ulcers that do not heal, with bleeding
- Bad breath (halitosis)
Major risk factors for tongue cancer:
- Tobacco use: Up to 90% of oral cancer patients smoked tobacco. The risks increase with the amount of tobacco smoked.
Oral cancers are six times more common among smokers or ex-smokers than among non-smokers. These changes may be reversible if smoking is stopped.
- Alcohol consumption: About 75 percent of patients who develop oral cancers are alcohol users. The disease is found six times more in drinkers than in non-drinkers. The risk of developing this disease for a person who smokes tobacco and drinks alcohol is 15 times higher than for a person who does not drink. neither nor smoke.
- Age and gender: Most people who have this form of cancer are between 50 and 60 years old. Men are more at risk of developing tongue cancer than women.
- Leukoplakia: disease that causes whitish spots on the lining of the mouth.
- Erythroplasia: a disease that causes superficial red spots on the lining of the mouth.
- Poor oral and/or dental hygiene.
- Plummer-Vinson syndrome: a rare disorder related to dietary deficiencies.
Treatments for tongue cancer:
Most cancers are treated with surgery, radiotherapy (radiation) or chemotherapy – or a combination of these three therapies. Since each patient and each case is unique, there is no “ideal” treatment. Your doctor will decide which treatment or combination of treatments is best for you. Your treatment will of course depend on the stage of your cancer, your health and your medical history.
Salivary Gland Cancer
Symptoms of Salivary Gland Cancer
This type of cancer can produce one or more of the following symptoms:
- Pain
- Loss of facial movement
- Tumors in the neck
- Painless mass in the palate, lips or inside the mouth.
- Nasal obstruction or congestion
- Change of vision.
Risk factors for salivary gland cancer
Risk factors are things that increase a person’s risk of developing a disease.
These risk factors can be:
- inherited (for example, a damaged gene that makes cancer more likely)
- environmental (for example, living in a place where the air is seriously polluted)
- related to a lifestyle choice (for example, smoking)
Major risk factors for salivary gland cancer include:
- Previous radiation therapy to the head and/or neck
- Exposure to nickel compounds/alloys, silica dust/quartz flour, or kerosene
- Previous skin cancer
- The use of hair coloring products
- Eating vegetables preserved in salt
Treatments for salivary gland cancer:
Most cancers are treated with surgery, radiotherapy (radiation) or chemotherapy – or a combination of these three therapies. Since each patient and each case is unique, there is no “ideal” treatment. Your doctor will decide which treatment or combination of treatments is best for you. Your treatment will of course depend on the stage of your cancer, your health and your medical history.
Nasopharyngeal cancer
Symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer
Many of the symptoms of this cancer are nasal, that is, related to the nose. Nasal symptoms may include:
- nosebleeds;
- nasal obstruction;
- an increase in the production of mucus by the nose.
Other symptoms may include:
- hearing loss or tinnitus
- headaches;
- one or more bumps in the neck.
Risk factors for nasopharyngeal cancer
Risk factors are things that increase a person’s likelihood of developing a disease.
Risk factors can be:
- inherited (for example, a damaged gene that increases the likelihood of cancer);
- environmental (for example, living in an area with severe air pollution);
- lifestyle-related (e.g. smoking).
Nasopharyngeal cancer is linked to a virus called the Epstein-Barr virus. This virus invades the region at the back of the nose and causes the cells that make it up to divide uncontrollably. Not all people with the Epstein-Barr virus develop cancer.
There is no known explanation for this to date. The Epstein-Barr virus primarily infects people of Asian descent. Thus, most people with nasopharyngeal cancer are of Asian descent.
Treatments for nasopharyngeal cancer:
Most cancers are treated with surgery, radiotherapy (radiation) or chemotherapy – or a combination of these three therapies. Since each patient and each case is unique, there is no “ideal” treatment. Your doctor will decide which treatment or combination of treatments is best for you. Your treatment will of course depend on the stage of your cancer, your health and your medical history.