Oral cancer

Oral cancer is a global health problem with increasing incidence and mortality rates; more than 500 000 patients are estimated to have oral cancer worldwide. Unfortunately, the 5-year survival rates have not changed during the last half-century, being still around 50–55% regardless of advances in diagnosis and treatment. The oral cavity is usually easily accessible for examination and thus offers the potential for opportunistic screening for intra- oral cancer. Early diagnosis is a foremost step for reducing cancer mortality, as identification of smaller lesions allows less aggressive and debilitating treatments. Unfortunately, diagnosis is often made in advanced stages (III or IV) of the disease and, thus the prognosis is poor and the morbidity and mortality high. This might be due to an unawareness of the majority of the population regarding the potential malignancy of oral lesions (patients’ delay), to an inaccurate diagnosis by the health professional and to delay in referral for treatment. Appropriate knowledge of diagnostic procedures and risk factors for oral cancer and precancerous lesions are essential for all specialist in oral care, who should not only care for and advise their patients about risk factors but routinely examine the oral cavity.