Continuing Education Units: 2 hours Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Tissues: A Comprehensive Review

Annually, over 35,000 cases of oral and pharyngeal carcinoma are diagnosed in the United States. Oral health care providers can be instrumental in reducing the incidence of oral and pharyngeal premalignant and malignant lesions by identifying patients with high-risk behavior, educating their patients about the consequences of their high-risk behavior, and by early detection of premalignant and malignant conditions. To facilitate early diagnosis, oral health care providers must take into consideration the capriciousness of oral cancer and must be familiar with the availability and application of diagnostic modalities beyond conventional visual inspection and palpation of oral soft tissues. Overview North Americans in 2008 were projected to die from oral and pharyngeal cancer at a rate of 1.2 per hour. Oral healthcare providers can be instrumental in reducing the incidence of oral and pharyngeal premalignant and malignant lesions by identifying patients with high-risk behavior, educating their patients about the consequences of their high-risk behavior, and by early detection of premalignant and malignant conditions. The fact that only 33 % of the cancers of the oral cavity and larynx were localized at the time of diagnosis and evidence that at least one third of the patients diagnosed with an oral or pharyngeal malignancy have undergone oral cancer screening within the past three years suggests the curren