Money Today reporter Jeong Sim-gyo | 2024.02.12 10:00
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Editor’s Note | If you lose your health, you lose everything. Anyone can protect their precious health with just a little care. Money Today presents a collection of health articles that received a lot of attention from readers in the second half of last year.
People who smoke more than a pack of cigarettes a day are about 10 times more likely to develop oral cancer than the general population. Furthermore, the incidence rate increases when alcohol and cigarettes are consumed together. Therefore, you need to check whether your daily lifestyle habits are causing oral cancer. Until relatively recently, oral cancer occurred much more often in men, but nowadays the incidence rate is also increasing in women. Some sexual habits are also closely related to the development of oral cancer. Let’s take a look at oral cancer with the help of Professor Eunjae Jeong from the Department of Otolaryngology at Seoul National University Hospital.
Ulcers accompanied by bleeding in the mouth may be suspected as oral cancer. /Photo = Seoul National University Hospital
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Once it occurs, it does not disappear and continues to grow.
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Oral cancer is a malignant tumor that can occur in any part of the mouth, including the palate, gums, buccal mucosa, tongue, base of the tongue, back of the molars, jaw or lips, oropharynx (back of the tongue), and the area connected to the throat. Among them, oral cancer occurs most frequently in the tongue, gums, including the maxilla (upper jaw) and mandible (lower jaw), and in the buccal mucosa. According to last year’s national cancer registration statistics, in 2020, the total number of oral cancer cases was 4,064, accounting for 1.6% of all cancer cases. The characteristic of oral cancer is that it develops in a specific area and continues to grow without disappearing. Environmental factors play a greater role than genetics. Smoking, chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol, eating habits and nutritional deficiencies can affect it. If you drink alcohol and smoke together, the incidence rate is about 15 times higher.
One of the main causes is poor oral hygiene or constant irritation caused by dentures. Human papillomavirus (HPV), syphilis, and oral mucosal fibrosis are also known to be major causes of oral cancer. Recently, the incidence of oral cancer in women is increasing. It is assumed that this is due to the increasing number of women smoking and drinking, as well as unhygienic oral sex.
In fact, in recent academic circles, “human papillomavirus (HPV)” has been mentioned as a cause of oral cancer. HPV is usually transmitted through sexual intercourse and causes cervical cancer, anal cancer and genital warts. Infection of the oral mucosa through oral sex may increase the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer. The frequency with which HPV DNA is detected in oral cancer patients is 15%, which is higher than that of the control group (5%). As a result, HPV was found to be a causative factor in oral cancer that acts independently of smoking and drinking.
It is important to detect and treat oral cancer in its early stages, so it is helpful to know the symptoms. If inflammatory ulcers such as white vitiligo, red spots or stomatitis in the oral cavity persist for more than 3 weeks, the extent of the lesion is large, or bleeding or pain persists, a detailed examination such as a biopsy should be performed. .
As oral cancer progresses, the cancer spreads primarily to the lymph glands under the jaw, and a lump may be felt in the neck. Therefore, if you feel a lump in your neck or a foreign body sensation or pain when swallowing food, you should seek medical advice from a specialist. Oral cancer is similar to stomatitis and gum disease, so it can be difficult to detect early. It is a dangerous cancer that spreads easily to the lymph glands in the neck, so regular checkups are necessary.
Persistent vitiligo suspected of oral cancer. /Photo = Seoul National University Hospital
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If a lesion in the mouth does not heal for more than 3 weeks, a biopsy is necessary.
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If oral cancer is clearly visible to the naked eye, it can be confirmed without an ENT endoscopy. If a lesion occurs on the tonsils or root of the tongue, the lesion is confirmed by combining the results of ENT endoscopy and imaging tests. To diagnose oral cancer, a biopsy is performed by removing a small portion of the suspicious lesion in the mouth under local anesthesia and diagnosing it under a microscope. Oral lesions that do not heal for more than 3 weeks, especially those that are large or accompanied by pain or bleeding, should be confirmed by biopsy.
Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) are used to verify the exact extent of lesion invasion, lymph node metastases, and systemic metastases such as lung metastases. In the case of cancer caused by smoking among patients diagnosed with oral cancer, metastases or overlapping tumors may occur in other organs, including the esophagus and lungs. In this case gastroscopy and further imaging tests are necessary.
Treatment methods for oral cancer vary depending on the stage, age, general condition, extent of the defect, etc., but surgical treatment is considered first. In general, the cure rate for early-stage oral cancer is 80%, but in advanced stages it drops to 30%. Early oral cancer can easily progress into the oral cavity, and the defect is not large, so further reconstructive surgery is often not necessary.
In the case of advanced oral cancer, there are many factors to consider: Usually, surgery is not performed alone, but post-operative radiotherapy or chemotherapy is combined. As oral cancer progresses, it may invade other parts of the oral cavity or structures around the oral cavity, and the area to be removed with surgery may become large.
Jaw elaborately reconstructed after extensive oral cancer surgery using a digital program and 3D printing technology./Photo = Seoul National University Hospital
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Reproduce original bones and teeth by applying 3D printing technology
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The structures within the oral cavity play an important role in eating and speaking. Therefore, it is important to minimize secondary functional loss after surgery. When facial bones, such as the jaw, need to be removed, proper reconstruction is essential as it is directly related to the shape of the face. Reconstruction after oral cancer surgery is a surgery that transplants the necessary skin, muscles, and bone tissue from various areas such as arms, legs, back, and abdomen to the needed area in the oral cavity. Recently, digital programs and 3D printing technology have been linked to help patients improve quality of life after surgery by replicating the patient’s removed jaw, facial bones, and teeth.
Research findings showing that lifestyle habits are closely related to oral cancer suggest that it is possible, to some extent, to prevent oral cancer by improving an individual’s lifestyle. Effective oral cancer prevention methods include quitting smoking, controlling alcohol consumption, and blocking radiation or ultraviolet rays. Many studies have shown that consuming fruits, vegetables, and vitamins A, C, and E can prevent oral cancer.
Hot or hard foods can also irritate the oral cavity, ongoing damage to ill-fitting dentures or oral dentures that have become sharp due to long-term use, and the possibility of wounds in the oral mucosal area turning into oral cancer have also been noted . proper examination and improvement is also necessary.
Like any other cancer, there is a significant difference in treatment methods and outcomes for oral cancer between early-stage cancer and advanced cancer. Early stage cancer is simple to treat, has a high cure rate and leaves no side effects. On the other hand, the treatment of advanced cancer is complicated, the cure rate is low, and there is a high risk of poor quality of life due to various functional impairments. Therefore, for early detection and prevention of oral cancer, you should pay attention to mouth cleanliness, avoid smoking, excessive drinking and chronic oral irritation, and if you have suspicious lesions, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. .
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
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