Treatment needs to
begin during the early stages of oral cancer to be most successful,
one expert has said.
Cancer Research UK has published figures which show that the number of new
cases of oral cancer has surpassed 6,000 a year for the first time in the UK.
Sara Hiom, director of information at the charity, said: "It's worrying to
see such a big rise in oral cancer rates. But like many other cancers, if oral
cancer is caught early, there is a better chance of successful treatment.
She added that it is vital people made themselves more aware of the symptoms of
the disease.
Important signs include mouth ulcers that do not heal, lumps or thickening in
the mouth, lips or throat and persistent red or white patches in the mouth.
The charity believes the human papillomavirus is responsible for many of the
new cases of the disease, whereas the main historic causative factors have been
smoking and alcohol consumption.
© Adfero Ltd
Cancer treatment news : 17 March 2012
