Tongue cancer is a kind of mouth cancer growing in the tongue, primarily affecting the squamous cell that lines the mouth. As health concerns have been increasing recently, so has the improvement of medical science to find treatments for diseases like cancer.
Wondering how to avoid this disease? In this article, you will find everything about this cancer type and available treatment.
So, let’s begin!
Cancer on the tongue has been a severe health concern for a long time. While there might be various types of tongue cancer, squamous cell carcinoma in the tongue is the most common one. In this, squamous cells are affected on the tongue surface, causing tumours or lesions. It can occur in the following areas –
Usually, since this cancer occurs in a sensitive area, it is almost impossible to detect early-stage tongue cancer. It is therefore essential to know the symptoms in advance to avoid tongue cancer or treat it.
A significant disadvantage is that the early stages hardly reveal any symptoms of tongue cancer. Initially starting as a tongue sore, tongue cancer in later stages might display the following symptoms.
It is crucial to identify early tongue cancer symptoms and their causes to avoid the adverse effects of the disease.
Even experts are not entirely aware of specific tongue cancer causes. However, there have been some speculations regarding a range of habits that might contribute to developing tongue cancer.
While these are usually assumed to cause tongue cancer, this disease might not be bound to just these causes. However, it is advisable to avoid such habits and stay safe from this disease.
As mentioned already, identifying tongue cancer stages and treatment can be helpful for the patients and their future. Doctors and healthcare professionals classify different tongue cancer stages based on their spread in the body cells.
There are usually 4 stages, denoted by numbers 1-4 or 0-3, revealing the severity of cancer. Classification of tongue cancer stages is represented with letters and numbers. The letter T, for instance, indicates Tumour, while N indicates Neck lymph nodes.
|
Stage |
Severity |
Description |
|
T |
0 |
No evidence of Tumour(primary) |
|
T |
1 |
Tumour found is 2cm or less |
|
T |
2 |
Tumour found is 2cm or less with DOI more than 5mm |
|
T |
3 |
Tumour found is more than 2cm but less than 4cm with DOI (depth of invasion) more than 10mm |
|
T |
4 |
Tumour more than 4cm and DOI more than 10mm |
|
N |
0 |
No regional nodes found |
|
N |
1 |
3cm or less metastasis in lymph nodes |
|
N |
2 |
Metastasis more than 3cm but less than 6cm in lymph nodes |
|
N |
3 |
Metastasis more than 6cm and negative ENE (negative extranodal extension) |
The process of tongue cancer treatment rests upon the size of a tumour and the status of the cancer spread in the body cells. In early mouth cancer, minor surgery is usually sufficient for the treatment by removing the affected area.
When diagnosed at an early stage, tongue cancer treatment success rate is usually impressive. In this regard, tongue cancer prognosis reveals a 36% five-year survival rate among the patients. It solely depends upon the stage of cancer. The rate increases to 78% in case cancer has not spread beyond the tongue. Thus, identifying the early-stage tongue cancer symptoms guarantees higher survival.
One of the significant aspects considered in the prognosis of tongue cancer is an examination of the neck and lymph nodes before the primary therapy. A usual spread pattern of a tumour is seen from the tongue to the lymphatic nodes in the neck.
The survival rate for tongue cancer has been on the rise. It is evident from an increase in both oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and oral tongue SCCA, enhancing the survival rate by 90% in general.
There are no specific means or ways to prevent tongue cancer from developing in the human body. However, based on some common causes, doctors have guided the habits that can help avoid tongue cancer.
Hopefully, the above guide has helped you understand what tongue cancer is and how to identify it early on. The treatment options can help patients tackle this condition in time, while other individuals can prevent it altogether by following the above tips.
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Disclaimer #2: This information is added only for informative purposes and collected from different sources across the Internet. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the information before making any decisions.
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