Cancer conference: Men who live in urban areas and who smoke and drink are most at risk of developing cancer of the mouth and throat, a major conference on oral cancer will be told this week.
Oral Cancer - The Patient's Journey, organised by the Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), will focus on patients' stories as a means of exploring the scientific issues surrounding the disease. Uniquely, the conference will be addressed by a patient in his 70s who has undergone treatment for throat cancer.
There are some 400 new cases of cancer of the mouth and throat diagnosed in Ireland every year, according to the latest statistics from the National Cancer Registry.
With the highest rates found in urban areas, the disease is three times more common in men than women.
Some 75 per cent of cases of oral cancer are associated with tobacco use. Alcohol and poor diet are the other major risk factors.
Oral cancers include cancers of the lip, the floor of the mouth and the back of the throat. Cancers of the lip have a good survival rate but cancer of the mouth has a death rate of 50 per cent.
"The best chance of cure comes from an earlier diagnosis. I believe morbidity can be reduced and prognosis improved by early diagnosis," Gerry Cowan, consultant oral surgeon at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast and meeting co-ordinator, said.
"Unlike other cancers, oral cancer has the advantage of two professional groups, dentists and doctors, that are trained to detect it.
"This, combined with the relative ease with which the mouth can be examined, means that early detection should be possible in many cases," he said.
Dr Edward Cotter, a specialist in maxillofacial prosthetics and dental oncology, who will also address the meeting, said: "Early detection in oral cancer has a direct effect on treatment outcome.
Dentists carry out cancer screening on every patient and are trained to look for precancerous and cancerous lesions. People should keep in close contact with their dentist and have a check-up at least once a year."
According to the Irish Dental Association, more than 80 per cent of the Republic's population are entitled to free or subsidised dental treatment.
It recently called on the Government to launch an information campaign to tell people about their entitlement to free examinations.
Most oral cancers are treated with a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Treatment can affect a patient's appearance as well as their ability to speak, eat and swallow. It requires a multidisciplinary approach including treatment by specialist surgeons, oncologists, speech therapists, nurse specialists and dentists.
The meeting, which takes place on Thursday and Friday at the RCSI, will hear of the latest treatment options for oral cancer as well as the importance of preparing the patient in advance of radiotherapy and surgery.