Oral cavity cancer: epidemiology and early diagnosis

Cancer of the oral cavity (Oral cancer) is the 11th most common malignancy in the world, despite the general global trend of a slight decrease in the incidence of oral cancer, tongue cancer incidence is increasing. About 90% of tumors are subtyped to oral Squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The incidence and mortality of this tumor shows variability according to the geographic location in which it is diagnosed, however in the last decade an increase was seen in the percentage of young patients, especially patients with tongue cancer. The overall prognosis of this cancer is roughly 55-65%, this is probably due to late diagnosis. Early diagnosis of oral cancer is the most important factor affecting the overall survival and prognosis, thus several diagnosis methods have been developed in the past few years. Still, the prognosis did not improve as expected. Oral cancer biomarkers in saliva is as easy body fluid, for noninvasive detection. Several researches identified several possible biomarkers, but none was specific. In our review, the incidence and mortality of oral tumors pose a main health problem in many aspects all around the world, as well as differences in behavior of these tumors. We witnessed more cases of anterior tongue cancers affecting mainly the young age patient group, a two decades younger than the normal risk group of oral cancer. Several countries in Europe showed a significant increase of oral cancer prevalence, such as Germany, especially in men. Similar behavior was also reported in the United States, which showed a change in the risk groups. Studies have reported an alarming lack of awareness about oral cancer, its symptoms and early diagnosis. These gaps in knowledge need to be addressed by further public education, possibly targeted at high-risk groups. With the knowledge of possible, specific, early biomarkers, primary detection could improve the prognosis tremendously. Research on the salivary biomarkers of the disease would help to develop screening programs tailored more to the risk groups.