Read article Screening for mouth cancer
This page is about the current situation regarding screening for mouth and oropharyngeal cancer. There is information about
Screening for mouth cancer
Screening means testing people for early signs of cancer before they have any symptoms.
There is no national screening programme in the UK for mouth or oropharyngeal cancer, because these cancers are relatively uncommon.
You can do a couple of things to make sure early signs are spotted
- Have regular dental check ups, at least yearly – even if you have false teeth
- Check inside your mouth with a small mirror for any changes or suspicious signs
Dentists play an important role in picking up early mouth cancers. Many dentists do routinely check for mouth or oropharyngeal cancer. So they are often the first to spot these cancers in their patients. You need to report any changes that you or your dentist find to your GP. This is especially important if you drink alcohol and also smoke.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the about mouth cancer section.
Screening means testing people for early signs of cancer before they have any symptoms. To be able to carry out screening, doctors need to have an effective and accurate screening test. The test must be reliable at picking up cancers that are there. And it must not give false positive results in people who do not have cancer.
There is no national screening programme in the UK for mouth or oropharyngeal cancer because these cancers are relatively uncommon. With uncommon diseases, it is most cost effective to screen people who have an increased risk of developing them. But first we must be sure we know who is at higher risk of mouth cancer. People who both smoke and drink heavily are at higher risk of mouth and throat cancers. In July 2006 a systematic review published by the Cochrane Library stated that we need more evidence to find out if a screening programme for mouth cancer can help pick up mouth cancers earlier.
You can do a couple of things to make sure early signs are spotted.
- Have regular dental check ups, at least yearly – even if you have false teeth
- Check inside your mouth with a small mirror for any changes that could be due to mouth cancer
Many dentists routinely check for mouth or oropharyngeal cancer. So they are often the first to spot these cancers in their patients. You need to report any changes you or your dentist find to your GP. This is especially important if you smoke and drink heavily.
There are UK guidelines for GPs that advise them when they need to refer people to a specialist in mouth cancer.
Rated 4 out of 5 based on 2 votes
- Share this: Tweet
-
-
- Print this page
-
Email this page
Increase text size
Decrease text size
Print page
Print basket
Save pages here and print in one go
Nurse helpline
Questions about cancer? Call freephone
0808 800 4040
or email us
