The Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus hosts a conference and a campaign to foster oral cavity cancer prevention
Oral cavity cancer or mouth cancer is the fifth most common neoplasia in men ―around 800 new cases are detected in Catalonia every year. Its incidence in women is lower but the number of cases is increasing ―214 new cases are detected every year― due to recent female consumption of tobacco and alcohol, two risk factors closely related to the disease. The number of cases of tongue cancer is also increasing in people younger than 40 who do not present risk factors; this fact might be related with the human papilloma virus. Even if survival rate has increased, 10% of patients who smoke or drink develop other types of primary cancers and more than a half of oral cancers are metastatic when they are detected (usually in cervical lymphatic ganglia).
Oral cavity cancer or mouth cancer is the fifth most common neoplasia in men ―around 800 new cases are detected in Catalonia every year. Its incidence in women is lower but the number of cases is increasing ―214 new cases are detected every year― due to recent female consumption of tobacco and alcohol, two risk factors closely related to the disease. The number of cases of tongue cancer is also increasing in people younger than 40 who do not present risk factors; this fact might be related with the human papilloma virus. Even if survival rate has increased, 10% of patients who smoke or drink develop other types of primary cancers and more than a half of oral cancers are metastatic when they are detected (usually in cervical lymphatic ganglia).
On Friday 31 October, the Head and Neck Functional Unit of the University Hospital of Bellvitge (HUB) and the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), together with the masterʼs degree in Dentistry in Oncological Patients and Immunodeficient Patients of the Faculty of Dentistry - Dental Hospital of the University of Barcelona (UB), organise a conference focused on this neoplasia at the Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus, which is one of centres included in the campus of international excellence HUBc, the health campus of the University of Barcelona. The Sala dʼActes of HUB hosts the event which will be presented by Dr Miquel Viñas, delegate manager of the Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus; Dr Sílvia Sánchez, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry of UB; Dr Candela Calle, director general of ICO; Dr Armand Arilla, director general of the Josep Finestres Foundation; Dr Carlos Bartolomé, medical director of the Bellvitge University Hospital, and Dr Jordi Trelis, director of ICO L'Hospitalet.
The programme of the conference shows the multidisciplinary work carried out at the Bellvitge Health Sciences Campus: epidemiology, basic studies, prevention, treatment and oral cancer follow-up, particularly early diagnose, rehabilitation and treatment-related problems that affect patientsʼ quality of life. Moreover, the Faculty of Dentistry of UB participates in a campaign to emphasize the importance of oral cancer early diagnose; it takes place from 27 to 30 October.
Dr Antoni Marí, university lecturer of Clinical Sciences at UB and head of the Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery Service of HUB, highlights that “recent advances such as virtual surgical planning in reconstruction, the technique of the sentinel ganglion, the progress made in rehabilitation and prevention of consequences have enabled to improve patientsʼ quality of life”. The treatment of mouth cancer is mainly surgical and, in the case of big tumours, it is complemented with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The survival rate in small tumours is 90%, but it decreases up to 50% in the case of big tumours. For this reason, Dr Marí underlines the importance of detecting tumours in early phases. “There are ―he affirms― pre-cancerous lesions, for example white patches in the mouth (leukoplakia) and mouth ulcers, which are not early detected because, first, they are not painful and, second, doctors and citizens are not enough aware of the important role that checks play in detection.
Dentists play a major role not only in prevention but also in certain aspects related to treatment and problem and consequence follow-up. According to Dr Marí, “dental care is essential to prepare surgery but also to prevent the toxic effects that radiotherapy and chemotherapy have on teeth and the mandible which may lead to necrosis”. Marí emphasises that all aspects contribute to cancer rehabilitation, a serious disease “which also has important psychosocial impact as it can affect face features, swallowing or speech”.