
Oral Cancer
The mouth and throat
This booklet is about cancers that occur in the mouth (oral cavity) and
the part of the throat at the back of the mouth (oropharynx). The oral
cavity and oropharynx have many parts:
- Lips
- Lining of your cheeks
- Salivary glands (glands that make saliva)
- Roof of
your mouth (hard palate)
- Back of your mouth (soft palate and uvula)
- Floor of your mouth (area under the tongue)
- Gums and teeth
- Tongue
- Tonsils
Understanding cancer
Cancer
begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues
make up the organs of the body.
Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them.
When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells
form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they
should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or
tumor.
Tumors can be benign or malignant:
- Benign tumors are not
cancer:
- Benign tumors are rarely life-threatening.
- Generally, benign tumors can be removed, and they
usually do not grow back.
- Cells from benign tumors do not invade the tissues around
them. Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
- Malignant tumors are
cancer:
- Malignant tumors are generally more serious than
benign tumors. They may be life-threatening.
- Malignant tumors often can be removed, but
sometimes they grow back.
- Cells from malignant tumors can invade and damage
nearby tissues and organs.
- Cells from malignant tumors can
spread to other parts of the body. The cells spread by breaking away from
the original cancer (primary tumor) and entering the bloodstream or
lymphatic system. They invade other organs, forming new tumors and damaging
these organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.
Oral cancer
Oral cancer is part of a group of
cancers called head and neck cancers.
Oral cancer can develop in any part of the oral cavity or oropharynx. Most
oral cancers begin in the tongue and in the floor of the mouth. Almost all
oral cancers begin in the flat cells (squamous cells) that cover the
surfaces of the mouth, tongue, and lips. These cancers are called squamous
cell carcinomas.
When oral cancer spreads (metastasizes), it usually travels through
the lymphatic system.
Cancer cells that enter the lymphatic system are
carried along by lymph, a clear, watery fluid. The cancer cells often
appear first in nearby lymph nodes in the neck.
Cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the neck,
the lungs, and other parts of the body. When this happens, the new tumor has the
same kind of abnormal cells as the primary tumor. For example, if oral cancer
spreads to the lungs, the cancer cells in the lungs are actually oral cancer
cells. The disease is metastatic oral cancer, not lung
cancer. It is treated as oral cancer, not lung cancer. Doctors sometimes
call the new tumor "distant" or metastatic disease.
Next: Who's at risk for oral cancer? »
 |
 |
From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
 |
 |
- CT Scan - CAT Scan / CT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography) information. Learn what a CAT Scan is, why it is performed, risks, and how to prepare for a CAT scan Source:MedicineNet
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI Scan) - Medical information on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used in detecting structural abnormalities of the body. Learn uses, risks, and how to prepare for an MRI scan Source:MedicineNet
- Chemotherapy - Explains chemotherapy, a drug treatment to kill cancer cells. Article includes descriptions, uses, and side effects, and care support. Source:Government
- Read 62 more Oral Cancer related articles ...
|
| |
 |
Last Editorial Review: 8/24/2006