Sreekumar Vinod Nair
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, P.M.S College of Dental Sciences and Research, Kerala University of Health Sciences, Trivandrum, India.
J Maxillofac Oral Surg. 2019 Sep;18(3):354-359. doi: 10.1007/s12663-018-1166-4. Epub 2018 Oct 16.
With 300,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide, oral cancer continues to be a major global public threat. In Indian subcontinent, oral cancer accounts for 30-40% of all cancer types.
Early detection of oral cancer is still considered as the most effective way to improve survival. In this regard, early detection of oral premalignant lesions and conditions is quite important as it may help in prevention of oral cancer. Scientific evidence is available which clearly indicates that transition from normal epithelium to premalignancy to oral carcinoma is the result of accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations in a multi-step process.
Proper oral screening and understanding of the genetic and environmental factors involved in oral carcinogenesis will allow the emphasis of cancer medicine to shift from the therapy of established oral cancer to the prevention of oral carcinogenesis.
全球每年有30万例新确诊的口腔癌病例,口腔癌仍然是一个重大的全球公共威胁。在印度次大陆,口腔癌占所有癌症类型的30%-40%。
早期发现口腔癌仍然被认为是提高生存率的最有效方法。在这方面,早期发现口腔癌前病变和状况非常重要,因为这可能有助于预防口腔癌。现有科学证据清楚地表明,从正常上皮组织到癌前病变再到口腔癌的转变是多步骤过程中遗传和表观遗传改变积累的结果。
适当的口腔筛查以及对口腔癌发生过程中涉及的遗传和环境因素的了解,将使癌症医学的重点从已确诊口腔癌的治疗转向口腔癌发生的预防。