Breakthroughs in science and medicine often happen
unexpectedly or whilst in the pursuit of something else entirely, such as when
Wilson Greatbatch came up with the idea for the pacemaker and Percy Spencer for
the microwave while investigating relatively unrelated areas or different
concepts. While on a smaller level, a recent discovery took place thanks to
several Canadian researchers, and it could help a great deal in preventing the
development of malignant oral cancers in millions of people.
The discovery in question involved a dye that is commonly
used for identifying oral cancer, but this dye could be used for predicting whether
precancerous oral abnormalities have a strong chance of becoming malignant as
well. As to how the dye works in this regard, the oral lesions that can absorb this
particular dye—toluidine blue—were a reported six times as likely to become
malignant. These lesions also comprised of molecular alterations linked to greater
risks for oral cancers, even in early stages, according to the multidisciplinary
researching team from British Columbia that discovered it.
As per the American Cancer Society, over 30,000 individuals in
the U.S. are diagnosed with a type of oral cancer every year. For the last
several decades, oral cancer’s five-year rate of survival has remained consistent
between 40 and 50 percent. Oftentimes, toluidine blue is used when diagnosing
oral cancer, but this recent study out of British Columbia, Canada was the
first of its kind to link precancerous lesions—identified often as red or white
patches within patients’ mouths—that absorb this dye to a greater risk of
developing into squamous cell carcinomas.
"The disease is usually identified fairly late in
progression," says Dr. Miriam Rosin, the study’s senior author and the director
of the BC Cancer Agency's Oral Cancer Prevention Program. "At that stage,
it is frequently not amenable to the successful intervention we'd like. The
whole deal of changing survival outcome is that you have to get at the disease
earlier." Dr. Rosin continued, "With enough training of those who are
doing the screening, the dye should help the clinicians find those patients
with lesions that should really be moved forward for assessment.”
For those who are concerned about whether they have oral
cancer, some common symptoms include the following:
·Persistent mouth sores that don’t heal
·Persistent mouth pain or bad breath
·Thickened cheeks or cheek lumps
·Red or white patches on the tongue, tonsil,
gums, or mouth lining
·Sore throat or sense of something caught that
won’t disappear
·Difficulty chewing or swallowing
·Difficulty moving the tongue or jaw
·Numbness on the tongue or somewhere else in the
mouth
·Swelling in the jaw that causes dentures to fit
poorly or hurt
·Teeth loosening
·Pain in jaw or teeth
·Voice changes
·Weight loss
·One or more lumps in the neck
If any of these symptoms remain for days or even weeks, it’s
best to schedule an appointment with your physician as soon as possible.
To find out how you can save as much as 20 percent of your
dental bills, consider signing up for our New Hampshire discount dental plan
for business owners, individuals, and families. For more information, please click here.
Copyright: fotoquique
/ 123RF Stock Photo
