Early diagnosis of oral cancer

Oral cancer currently strikes about 30,000 Americans each year. Survival rates are approximately 50%. However, early detection followed by appropriate treatment can increase cure rates to about 80%, and greatly improves the quality of life by minimizing extensive, debilitating treatments. An early oral cancer can appear as an innocuous red or white change, an ulcer, or a lump, mimicking many benign lesions. Additionally, when the discomfort is minimal, professional consultation often is delayed, increasing the chance for local spread and regional metastases. Vital staining with toluidine blue and exfoliative cytologic examination can aid early detection by accelerating the biopsy of lesions that cannot be classified adequately or made to disappear.