This week is the 25th National Cancer Prevention and Control Awareness Week. According to the statistics of the National Cancer Center, there are 3.929 million new cases of malignant tumors in China every year, and the number of lung cancer patients and deaths has ranked first among malignant tumors for 10 consecutive years. Although oral cancer is not well known to the public, its harm cannot be ignored.
The incidence and death of lung cancer ranks first in malignant tumors
According to the statistics of the National Cancer Center, the number of lung cancer patients and deaths in China has ranked first in malignant tumors for 10 consecutive years, with about 787,000 new lung cancers and about 631,000 deaths due to lung cancer every year.
Symptoms of lung cancer include blood in the sputum when coughing, significant weight loss, coughing for more than 3 weeks, severe pain in the chest when coughing, and persistent body temperature above 38 degrees. Lung cancer can be examined with low-dose spiral ct of the chest.
Zhi Xiuyi, Director of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association:
Many lung cancer patients are not in the early stages, which is why the current high mortality rate is that early patients (can) pass this minimally invasive procedure, with little trauma and quick recovery.
Risk factors for lung cancer include smoking, outdoor air pollution, kitchen fumes, and decoration pollution. Tobacco contains nearly 7,000 chemicals, of which 69 are identified as carcinogens. Clinical statistics show that the lung cancer mortality rate of male smokers is 8-20 times that of non-smokers. At present, there are about 300 million smokers and 740 million victims of second-hand smoke in China. Experts say that smokers who smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day and have smoked continuously for more than 20 years are at high risk of lung cancer.
Oral cancer prevention is better than treatment Should be diagnosed and treated early
Oral cancer is a general term for malignant tumors that occur in the oral cavity, including lip cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, tongue cancer and so on.
Oral cancer is a relatively unfriendly of various cancers, and once diagnosed, it can only be treated surgically, and the survival rate after surgery is low. Even if they can survive, the patient's appearance, swallowing, speech function, etc. will be greatly affected. Experts said that the prevention of oral cancer is very important, once found, it should be diagnosed and treated early.
Early symptoms are not obvious and are easy to ignore
Early stages of oral cancer may present as ulcers or masses of the oral mucosa. Because some of the symptoms in the early stages of oral cancer are not obvious, they are often overlooked.
Professor Liu Hongwei of Peking University Stomatological Hospital:
For example, there is a fava bean-sized ulcer, but it is not good for three months, so it is necessary to be vigilant, it may be oral cancer. Some are whitish of the oral mucosa, that is, leukoplakia, which appears on the cheeks and tongue. Another disease is erythema, which is often leukoplakia and has no painful symptoms and is not easily detected.
Poor lifestyles and eating styles are important triggers
Some of people's bad living habits and eating styles are important reasons for inducing precancerous lesions of oral mucosa.
Guo Chuanyao, dean and professor of Peking University Stomatological Hospital, pointed out that the tooth stumps and crowns in the mouth have a long time, the edges are sharply sharpened, and when the tongue speaks, chews, and moves, it will damage the mucous membrane of the tongue, plus bad habits such as smoking, drinking, and chewing betel nut, which is more likely to lead to the occurrence of cancer.
Experts point out that the occurrence of oral cancer does not occur suddenly, there is a long-term slow transformation process. However, most oral cancer patients are already in advanced stages when they seek treatment, and due to the special location of the oral cavity, prevention is far better than treatment for the treatment of oral diseases. Therefore, developing healthy hygiene habits and eating styles, and checking the mouth regularly is the best way to prevent cancer.
Long-term chewing of betel nut increases the risk of oral cancer
Long-term chewing of betel nut has the risk of inducing oral cancer, the General Office of the National Health Commission recently issued the "Healthy Oral Action Plan (2019-2025)", proposing that in areas with the habit of chewing betel nut, with the long-term chewing of betel nut on the harm of oral health as the focus, targeted publicity and education and oral health examinations, to promote the early diagnosis and early treatment of diseases such as periodontal and oral mucosal lesions.
Professor Guo Chuanyao, President and Professor of Peking University Stomatological Hospital:
Because betel nut chewing will cause a lesion, that is, fibrosis under the mucous membrane. You can see that his mucous membranes are not elastic, hard, and his mouth is restricted.
According to statistics, the number of oral cancer patients in five hospitals in Changsha, such as Xiangya Hospital, Xiangya Second Hospital and Xiangya Third Hospital of Central South University, was 305 cases in 2005, and rose to 2108 cases in 2016. Zhai Xinchun, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, said that about 80% of the oral cancer patients he received had the habit of chewing betel nut for a long time.
According to the "National Cancer Statistics Report 2018 Edition" released by the National Cancer Center, 55,000 cases of oral cancer were newly diagnosed in China in 2016. Experts believe that the whole society should increase the publicity of the prevention and treatment of oral cancer, so that more people can understand the disease.