Tongue Cancer- Symptoms, Causes, Stages & Treatment

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!

What Is Tongue Cancer?

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 –

On the skin surface
In the mouth lining, throat, larynx and thyroid
In the lining of digestive and respiratory tracts

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.

What Are the Symptoms of Tongue Cancer?

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.

Base of Tongue Cancer Symptoms

Difficulty in moving the tongue
Ear pain and a sore throat
Difficulty in swallowing
Red or white patches on the tongue or mouth lining
Lump in the back of the mouth, neck or throat
Muscle pain and voice hoarseness

Oral Tongue Cancer Symptoms

Persistent mouth ulcer
Mouth numbness
Persistent sore throat
Tongue bleeding for no apparent reason
Persisting and bleeding lump on the tongue touching the teeth

It is crucial to identify early tongue cancer symptoms and their causes to avoid the adverse effects of the disease.

What Causes Tongue Cancer?

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.

Tobacco consumption and its addiction
Excessive alcohol consumption
Infection from Human papillomavirus (HPV)
Poor food diet with low consumption of fruits and vegetables
Oral hygiene issues with jagged teeth or ill-fitted dentures
Family history of tongue or mouth 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.

What Are the Stages of Tongue Cancer?

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)

How to Diagnose Tongue Cancer?

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.

Partial Glossectomy: In this type of surgery, doctors remove a part of the tongue that they believe has cancer. It mainly occurs in large tumours. Patients might have to undergo reconstruction surgery if a large part of the tongue is removed in this procedure. Partial glossectomy has several side effects, including changes in their eating, breathing and swallowing. Patients will require speech therapy for coping with this.
Radiation Therapy: The purpose of this therapy is to stop cancer from spreading and dividing in cells. Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy is a popular form of radiation therapy used to treat hard-to-reach tumours. The treatment is also helpful in destroying cancelled cells and shrinking the Tumour.
Chemotherapy: This therapy is usually followed in advanced tongue cancer stages. It is an alternative to surgery combined with radiotherapy. After surgery, doctors can also use it for decreasing the chances of cancer returning to the body. Moreover, when doctors cannot cure cancer, chemotherapy helps to control the symptoms.

What Is the Prognosis of Tongue Cancer?

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.

How to Prevent Tongue Cancer?

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.

Reduction in tobacco and alcohol consumption
Healthy and planned food diet
Improving dental hygiene with regular brushing and flossing
Taking HPV vaccines
Visiting a dentist every six months

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

✓ Is tongue cancer curable?

Yes, in case the cancer is detected at an early stage, it is highly curable. However, as the symptoms hardly show at early stages, diagnosis becomes a challenge. It is usually life-threatening when diagnosed at an advanced stage.

✓ Where does tongue cancer usually start?

Usually, tongue cancer starts from the tongue or the mouth line. The thin and flat squamous cells lining the tongue's surface are typically affected first in this case.

✓ Does tongue cancer spread quickly?

Yes, there are chances of a quick spread of cells in case of tongue cancer. The squamous cells are small and thin, and they can enter almost every body part.

✓ What can be mistaken for tongue cancer?

There are chances that your doctor might misdiagnose common conditions such as oral herpes and dental abscess for tongue cancer. It is probably because their early symptoms are usually identical.