Treatment of Oral Cancer

  • Oral Cancer
    Oral cancer refers to cancers of the head and neck. It includes cancer of the lips, tongue, cheeks, gums, salivary glands, floor of the mouth, hard and soft palate, sinuses and pharynx. Brain cancer falls in a different category.  
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 12 October 2015
Cancer Treatment Information

Treatment of oral cancer involves surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Treatment plan is decided based on severity, stage of the cancer and patient’s condition. Doctors may recommend some of the following:

1. Surgery – Surgical treatment is planned based on size, stage of cancer and patient’s condition.

  • Tumor excision - It is done to remove the tumour and surrounding healthy tissue margins to ensure complete destruction of cancer cells. Excision depends on the size and location of the tumour. 
  • Neck dissection and removal of lymph nodes are done if it has spread into lymph nodes. This will prevent further spread of the cancer. Types of neck dissection include selective, modified radical, or radical neck dissection.
  • Reconstruction surgery - It is performed to restore functions and aesthetic for improving quality of life of the patient. It involves flap reconstruction, skin grafting or the use of implants. If jaw bone is affected in advanced cancer, jaw is reconstructed with the help of bone grafting. In case of tongue involvement, reconstructive surgery is done to preserve speech and swallowing functions.
  • Microvascular surgeries are performed to transplant tissue from another part of the body to reconstruct the affected area.
  • After surgery, medicine and liquid nutrition support is given through a tube inserted from nose to stomach. Semi solid food can be given to patient after sutures have healed.
  • Nutritional support and physiotherapy, rehabilitation services including swallow and, speech therapy help patients to regain optimal function after surgery.

2. Radiotherapy – It plays an important role in cancer therapy as definitive treatment or an adjuvant therapy. It kills cancer cells and stops them from multiplying. It is given through high energy beams of radiation directed towards the cancerous tissue. Radiotherapy is given in multiple sessions over months to allow healthy tissue to recover. It is recommended after surgery in patients who have high chance of the cancer recurring. 

Side effects of radiation include dryness of mouth, ulcers, hair loss, dental cavities etc. 

  • Mucositis – Inflammation and ulceration of the oral mucosa.
  • Xerostomia – Dryness of mouth is the common side effect of radiation. It leads to difficulty in eating, oral infection and dental caries.
  • Dysphagia – Difficulty in swallowing happens due to inner inflammation of the throat and oesophageal tissues.
  • Radiation dermatitis – Skin reactions such as redness, dryness and peeling can happen in the treatment area.
  • Osteoradionecrosis, reduced mouth opening and radiation induced fibrosis are long term side effects of radiation. 

3. Chemotherapy - Combinations of various drugs are used to slow down the cancer cell progress and kill the cancer cells. They damage DNA of cancer cells and kill them. Chemotherapy drugs are given orally and intravenously. Sometimes it is indicated before surgery to shrink tumour and east surgical resection. It can be used as the primary treatment modality for advanced or unresectable oral cancers, either alone or in combination with radiation therapy (chemo radiotherapy).

Common side effects include hair loss, fatigue, hematologic toxicity, neurotoxicity, nausea, vomiting and anaemia. For managing side effects of chemotherapy:
https://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/managing-side-effects-chemoth…

4. Targeted therapy - These are aimed at the altered cells due to cancer. It is used in cases where cancer has genetic mutations or resistant to other treatment. The molecules involved in cancer growth and progression are specifically targeted in this therapy. Commonly used drugs are cetuximab or pembrolizumab. 

5. Immunotherapy – These are used alone or in combination with other treatments for advanced or recurrent oral cancer. It boosts the body’s immune system to recognize cancer cells, control the progression and kill them. Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are commonly used for oral cancer.

Read more on managing complications at
https://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/managing-oral-complications-c…

Go through some personal voices for motivation: 

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzQewDzDRNc
  2. https://www.patientsengage.com/personal-voices/i-did-it-i-finally-quit-…
  3. https://www.patientsengage.com/personal-voices/oral-cancer-chewing-soli…
  4. https://www.patientsengage.com/personal-voices/ways-de-stress-during-ch…

References:

  1. Image 1  https://www.healthline.com/health/oral-cancer/oral-cancer-screening 
  2. Image 2 and 3 - https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2002/0401/p1379.html
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK343649/#:~:text=Oral%20cancer%20s…
  4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mouth-cancer/diagnosis-t….
  5. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/mouth-cancer/treatment/
  6. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/oral-cavity-and-oropharyngeal-cance…
  7. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/oral-cavity-and-oropharyngeal-cance…(,tumors%20or%20slow%20their%20growth.
  8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3170277/
     
Changed
26/Apr/2024
Community
Cancer
Condition
Oral Cancer

Stories

  • Image of a person undergoing radiation therapy
    What Are The Side Effects Of Radiation Therapy?
    And other questions on types of radiation therapy and tips to handle the effects of radiation therapy answered by Dr. Arpana Shukla, Senior Consultant Radiation Oncology, Sterling Cancer Center Ahmedabad 1.   What exactly is Radiation Therapy? Radiation Therapy is a clinical modality mainly dealing with the use of ionizing radiations for the treatment of cancer patients (and occasionally benign diseases). The primary goal is to deliver a precisely measured dose of radiation to a…
  • Close up of the author Mariyam Raza Haider, caregiver of her father with oral cancer
    Handling Late Night Medical Emergencies
    The most important factor in medical emergencies is to not panic, think calmly and act quickly and effectively. Mariyam Raza Haider, 26, recounts an emergency due to side effects of chemotherapy for her father's treatment of oral cancer and the lessons she learnt from it. This concludes the two-part series. One of the biggest concerns when taking care of a cancer patient on chemotherapy is the bout of side effects. The most common side effects of any form of chemotherapy are — nausea,…
  • Picture of Mariyam Raza Haider whose father has oral cancer
    Ways to De-stress during Chemotherapy Sessions
    Mariyam Raza Haider, 26, gives a first person account of how she makes her father’s chemotherapy cycles for aggressive oral cancer as easy and comfortable as possible. This is the first of a two-part series. Chemotherapy, despite being one of the most rigorous medical treatments, demands a pretty simple administration regime. More often than not, cancer patients spend a few hours at the hospital’s daycare, get the chemo drugs through intravenous catheters, and are then discharged. Most side…
  • How Can I Prevent Cancer?
    Among the ways to prevent cancer – eating a healthy, balanced diet could be your starting point. Try to consume all essential nutrients that will help detoxify your body, stimulate the immune system and prevent healthy cells from turning cancerous. Over the last 25 years, research has produced dietary guidelines that have become conventional wisdom when it comes to cancer prevention. There are a number of substances present in our daily diet which are carcinogenic (cancer causing substances)…
  • Stock pic of a person with mouth ulcer and a green band with white font and text that says Get Rid Of Mouth Ulcers
    How To Get Rid Of Mouth Ulcers?
    Oral health is not limited to your teeth alone. Mouth ulcers or sores can develop inside the mouth, cheeks, lips and tongue that can be extremely painful. Dr Shail Jaggi informs us on causes and symptoms of mouth ulcers and offers some advice on how to keep our mouth healthy, hygienic and problem free. All of us have at some point experienced oral sores in the mouth. These are generally very unpleasant and extremely painful and will persist for a couple of days. These sores are called ulcers.…
  • Effect of Smoking on Fertility: Everything you wanted to know
    Smoking is known to cause and effect many systems in our body with adverse consequences, but how does it affect fertility in women? Dr Sarita Bhalerao, an established OBGYN from Mumbai helps us understand the subject in more detail. 1. Is smoking a growing concern for infertility in women? Smoking and consumption of tobacco have in general been a growing concern for women all over the world. It is a major health problem affecting developing countries especially amongst the youth…
  • Post Card From A Home Far Away
    Arun M Sivakrishna's father did not smoke or drink, nor did he chew tobacco. He still got oral cancer. Arun shares a poem from his collection "Songs of a Solitary Tree" My dad had oral cancer as well other ailments related to heart conditions and diabetes. He lost his left jaw bone. The irony is he never used to smoke or chew tobacco or drink. He had an abscess in the liver that was operated. He joked to me: "you smoke, I gave my jaw..you drink and I had to give my liver"..…
  • Cancer Treatment Information
    Treatment of Oral Cancer
    Treatment of oral cancer involves surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Treatment plan is decided based on severity, stage of the cancer and patient’s condition. Doctors may recommend some of the following: 1. Surgery – Surgical treatment is planned based on size, stage of cancer and patient’s condition. Tumor excision - It is done to remove the tumour and surrounding healthy tissue margins to ensure complete destruction of cancer cells. Excision depends on…
  • Cancer Management
    Management Oral Cancer
    Apart from the treatment options, the following are important as well: Food and nutrition  Eating right is a key part of cancer treatment. You need to keep your body as strong as possible before, during and after treatment, so you need to take in enough nutrients. Eating enough proteins and calories will help your body deal with the treatment and fight off infections. Weight loss or malnutrition presents a real life risk for cancer patients. But for some oral cancer patients, food intake…
  • Oral Cancer Types and Stages
    Stages of Oral Cancer
    Stages of oral cancer TNM Staging of oral cancer. T stands for tumour size.   TX- Primary tumour cannot be assessed T0- No evidence of primary tumour Tis -Carcinoma in situ T1- Tumour 2 cm or less in greatest dimension T2 -Tumour more than 2cm but not more than 4cm in greatest dimension T3 -Tumour more than 4cm in greatest dimension T4 - Tumour invades adjacent structures, eg, through jaw bone, jaw nerve, floor of mouth, skin of face. N stands for lymph node involvement. NX:…

Latest Stories

Booklet