Most ignore early signs of mouth cancer

Most people ignore the early signs of mouth cancer when the disease is easiest to treat, a small study has found.

And some even try to treat the symptoms themselves, rather than seeking advice from a doctor or dentist about a troublesome "lump" or "patch" in their mouth.

The research, which interviewed 15 relatively young mouth cancer patients in Scotland, found that most had heard of oral cancer but didn’t think they had symptoms of a life-threatening condition.

Forty per cent of the patients tried to manage their symptoms themselves and sought over-the-counter treatments suggested by a pharmacist, which led to some seeking professional help by up to two months.

Although 90 percent of the patients knew that tobacco and alcohol increased the risk of oral cancer, they never suspected that they had mouth cancer themselves. In fact, none thought it would happen to them.

A third of the patients said the first sign they noticed was some kind of "lump", a few described a "white spot" "mark" or "patch" and two described an abscess.

Exactly 40 per cent said their mouth felt sore while just fewer than 30 per cent said they felt no pain or soreness at all.

The period of time which passed between the patients noticing their symptoms and making contact with a health care professional varied from a few days to a year, although two thirds saw someone within eight weeks.

Reasons for delaying to seek help included not wanting to waste the doctor's time and appearing to be a hypochondriac.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of charity The British Dental Health Foundation said: “The custom of not bothering the GP or dentist unless it was thought as “serious” is a big obstacle for earlier access.

"Much research supports the notion that greater awareness of oral cancer and its symptoms is required. We need to let the public know that if their symptoms continue past three weeks then they need a professional opinion.”

Around 5,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with mouth cancer each year, and around 2,000, die from it.

Mouth cancer is more common in men than women and people over the age of 40, though an increasing number of women and young people are now developing the condition.

Tobacco and alcohol are thought to contribute to at least three–quarters of mouth cancer cases. Alcohol aids absorption of smoke into the mouth, so people who smoke and drink alcohol to excess are 30 times more likely to develop mouth cancer.

Dr Carter added: "If in doubt, get checked out.’”

The study was published in the May issue of the British Dental Journal.

This article was published on Mon 7 June 2010