Oral cancer is prone to metastasize to locations

Written by Sun Ming Yue
Medical Oncology
Updated on September 02, 2024
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If you have oral cancer, the most likely place for it to spread is the throat. The mouth is connected to the throat, and cancer cells in the mouth grow very quickly. These cancer cells also have a high tendency to spread. If left unchecked over time, there is a possibility that they will spread throughout the body. Moreover, since the mouth and throat are so close to each other, the throat is the most likely first place to be affected. If a patient discovers they have oral cancer, they should seek treatment as soon as possible to prevent the condition from spreading.

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Written by Cui Fang Bo
Oncology
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Can oral cancer be cured?

Once oral cancer is diagnosed, it is confirmed as malignant, and only a certain proportion of patients with early-stage disease can be cured. After the diagnosis of oral cancer, surgery is the preferred treatment option. It involves the removal of the clearly defined tumor within the mouth, and if necessary, dissection of the lymph nodes in the neck. After radical resection, adjunctive radiotherapy and chemotherapy are commonly used to improve disease control. Some early-stage patients can be cured after undergoing the above treatments. However, when oral cancer progresses to a certain extent, even after radical surgery and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the risk of recurrence and metastasis remains high, making it incurable.

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Written by Wang Ji Zhong
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Can oral cancer be treated?

Oral cancer poses a significant threat to human life, and it is crucial to detect and treat it early for optimal outcomes. Individuals over the age of 40, especially those frequently experiencing oral ulcers, particularly with symptoms of bleeding and pain, or when there is a growth at the base of the ulcer, should immediately seek hospital examination for timely pathological diagnosis. Early detection followed by prompt surgery, and deciding whether further radiotherapy or chemotherapy is needed based on the severity of the condition, can achieve the best treatment results. Therefore, oral cancer is treatable and can be cured if detected early.

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Written by Wang Ji Zhong
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Do people with oral cancer experience weight loss?

Oral cancer is a serious threat to human life among oral diseases, and its early symptoms are not particularly obvious, so it is necessary to remind people to pay attention. In addition to some local ulcers, patients with oral cancer have neoplastic cancer tissue growing at the ulcer base. The cancer tissue will develop and damage the masseter and chewing muscles, and it will also cause dysphagia and speech disorders, as well as lead to lymph node metastasis. As cancer cells grow and develop rapidly, they consume a large amount of the body's energy, so patients with oral cancer will experience significant weight loss in the later stages. At this time, in addition to cancer treatment, supportive symptomatic treatment is also needed to enhance the body's resistance.

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Written by Sun Ming Yue
Medical Oncology
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Can oral cancer be transmitted through saliva?

Oral cancer, unlike some other cancers, cannot be transmitted to others through bacteria or pathogens via saliva or other means. Thus, oral cancer is not contagious. The cancer cells in oral cancer can only metastasize within the individual themselves, causing proliferation and spreading of the disease. Therefore, even if it leads to cancer in other parts of the body, it is not transmissible to others. Based on these symptoms, living or sharing meals with someone suffering from oral cancer does not pose a risk of contagion through saliva.

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Written by Yan Chun
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What should I do about oral cancer causing facial perforation?

Patients with oral cancer presenting with facial perforation symptoms can be treated with the following clinical methods: First, local dressing changes should be performed on the perforated facial tissue. Topically applied antibiotics can be used to prevent and treat infections caused by the perforation. Additionally, topical anesthetics can be applied to alleviate pain. Second, as facial perforations are often due to cancerous tissue damage, considering the application of topical chemotherapy drugs can promote the shrinkage of cancerous lesions at the perforation site, which is beneficial for the growth of normal tissues.