Slow to heal or slow to diagnose cancer?
- 23 April 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in British Dental Journal
- Vol. 230 (8), 518-522
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-2837-y
Abstract
There are around 8,500 new cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) diagnosed in the UK each year and the incidence appears to be increasing. Although surgical and non-surgical treatment options have improved significantly in the last few decades, five-year survival has not, with an average five-year survival of 56% in the UK. Providing patients have access, there are frequent opportunities for oral cancer screening by their general dental practitioner. We present two cases of SCC managed in our department, both of whom were referred following a protracted period of review in general dental practice, where the initial 'benign diagnoses' were not re-evaluated during this time. This delay can considerably impact on patient outcomes, including survival. We outline each patient's clinical course, and key learning points to help dental practitioners detect lesions that require prompt referral to the oral and maxillofacial service for urgent investigation.This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- The synergistic effect of tobacco and alcohol consumption on oral squamous cell carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysisClinical Oral Investigations, 2019
- Diagnosis and referral delays in primary care for oral squamous cell cancer: a systematic reviewBritish Journal of General Practice, 2018
- Mouth cancer: presentation, detection and referral in primary dental careBritish Dental Journal, 2018
- The pathology of oral cancerBritish Dental Journal, 2018
- The changing aetiology of head and neck squamous cell cancer: A tale of three cancers?Clinical Otolaryngology, 2018
- The relative length of the patient and the primary care interval in patients with 28 common and rarer cancersBritish Journal of Cancer, 2015
- DiagnosisPublished by Elsevier BV ,2013