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Department: Artemis Cancer Institute
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Oral Cancer
Oral cancer is the most common form of cancer in India accounting for 50% of all cases of cancer in India. As much as 7% of all cancer deaths in males and 4% in females, have been reported to be due to oral cancer. These high figures can be attributed to smoking, chewing tobacco and alcohol use.
WHAT ARE ORAL CANCERS?
Your body is made up of many types of cells. In normal course, cells grow, divide, and produce more cells to keep your body healthy. However, at times, this process may not function properly and cells may become abnormal, forming more cells, in an uncontrolled manner. These extra cells form a mass of tissue, called a growth or a 'tumour'. Tumours can be benign, which means non-cancerous, or malignant, which means cancerous. Oral cancer occurs when a malignant tumour forms inside your mouth (oral cavity), at the back of your mouth (oropharynx) or in the throat. Most of the oral cancers originate from the tongue or, from the floor of the mouth.
WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF ORAL CANCER?
There are various risk factors associated with oral cancers. Some of the common ones are : Tobacco : Tobacco use is the major cause of most oral cancers. Tobacco in any form-smoking cigarettes, cigars, bidis or pipes, chewing tobacco and using snuff can cause oral cancers. Alcohol : If you consume alcohol regularly and in large quantities, you will be more likely to develop oral cancer than those who abstain from alcohol. The risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OR ORAL CANCER?
The most common symptoms of oral cancer are as follows :
HOW ARE ORAL CANCERS DIAGNOSED?
If the symptoms suggest an Oral Cancer, your doctor will ask for a detailed medical history and he will also conduct a physical examination before conducting the following test :
Biopsy : A biopsy is an accurate way to know if the visibly abnormal area is cancerous or not.
After administering local anaesthesia, your doctor will extract a small sample from the tumour, which will be examined under a microscope. This is called a biopsy.
Once the cancer has been diagnosed, staging of the disease will be done to plan the best treatment option.
Staging is a process in which your doctor will try to ascertain the size and extent of the cancer. The stage will be based on the size of the tumour and to what parts of your body has the cancer spread.
For staging, some other tests from the following list will be required.
Endoscopy : In this procedure, your doctor will use a thin, lighted tube called an 'endoscope', which will be passed through your nose to view your throat, windpipe, and lungs. Your doctor will give some mild sedative to ensure that you are comfortable during the procedure.
Dental X-rays : This procedure detects the spread of cancer to your jaw.
Chest X-rays : This procedure detects the spread of cancer to your lungs.
CT scan / MRI : This procedure gives a detailed picture of the tumour in your mouth, throat, neck.
HOW ARE ORAL CANCERS TREATED?
There are multiple options for treating oral cancer, depending on the type and extent of the cancer and general health. Sometimes, a combination of treatments might also be required.
Surgery
Surgery is the most common form of treatment. Along with the removal of tumour, some lymph nodes in the neck and tissues in the mouth may also be removed. You may have surgery in combination with radiation therapy.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is used to destroy cancer cells. It will be used alone, for small tumours or if you cannot undergo a surgery. It may be used before the surgery to kill cancer cells and to shrink the tumour. It might also be used post-surgery to destroy cancer cells that might have been left during the surgery.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells. In this therapy, you are administered a drug through a line in vein (IV) or orally. Chemotherapy can be administered alone or in a combination with other treatments. Normally, this therapy is administered in cycles, with periods of rest, following every treatment phase.
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF TREATMENT?
The thyroid gland in the neck may get damaged due to radiations may be required. There can be changes in the sense of taste and smell and in the quality of the voice. Other common side effects are hair loss, poor appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, or mouth and lip sores. Blood cells might get affected causing infections, dryness of mouth, difficulty to swallow, bruising or a tendency to bleed easily and fatigue. However, most of the side effects are temporary in nature and can be treated with medication.
PAIN MANAGEMENT
The management of pain is an integral part of cancer therapy. Medications are the cornerstone of cancer pain treatment, and their use is aimed at providing the greatest pain relief possible with the fewest number of side effects and the greatest pain relief possible with the fewest number of side effects and the greatest ease of administration. Doctors usually prescribe medications that ensure maximum pain relief. Sometimes doctors might recommend some interventional procedures like surgery and / or injections.
FOLLOW UP CARE
In cancer treatment, follow up care is an essential element of the overall treatment plan. Regular checkups are advised to detect any changes in health.
CANCER CARE AT ARTEMIS
At Artemis Health Institute, state-of-the-art facilities are available for cancer diagnosis, treatment and follow up care and rehabilitation. These include advance imaging technologies such as a PET Scan, DWIBS and 3 TMRI for diagnosing cancer. The hospital is also equipped with state-of-the-art radiation therapy such as Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) and Brachytherapy.
In temporary brachytherapy, the radioactive material is placed inside or near a tumour for a specific amount of time and then withdrawn. In temporary brachytherapy, a delivery device, such as a catheter, needle or applicator is placed into the tumour using fluoroscopy, ultrasound or CT to help position them. The physician may insert the radioactive material at the same time remotely through the delivery device, and later remove the material and delivery device. Temporary brachytherapy can be administered at a high-dose rate (HDR).
AHI has HDR Brachytherapy from Nucletron, Model Microselectron HDR.X.
Diseases:-
The oncologists at AHI are equipped to treat various kinds of cancers, including but not limited to:
- Larynx
- Colorectal Cancer
- Hodgkin's Disease
- Leukaemia
- Prostate Cancer
- Oesophagus Cancer
- Oral Cancer
- Thyroid Cancer
Special Care Units / Diagnostic Equipment / Facilities
- Diffusion Weighted Whole Body Imaging with Background Body Signal (DWIBS)
- 3 Tesla MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
- Mammography System
- PET Scan
- Advanced CT Scan (64-slice CT)
- PET-CT Fusion Technology
- Dual Head Gamma Camera
- Brachytherapy
- Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) - the first in North India
Team of Specialists:
- Dr Ranga Rao Consultant- Medical OncologyView Profile
- Dr. Deep Goel, Gastrointestinal Surgeon Consultant- Surgical OncologyView Profile
- Dr Subodh Pandey Consultant- Radiation OncologistView Profile