Tongue cancer is a form of cancer that affects the tissues of the tongue, both front and back. This disease can have a significant impact on the ability to speak, eat and swallow, and it’s important to understand the causes, symptoms and treatment options available to combat this disease.
Incidence of tongue cancer
Tongue cancer accounts for around 2% of all cancers diagnosed in Italy. It mainly affects men more than women, and people who smoke or drink heavily are more at risk.
Critical factors in the treatment of tongue cancer
The treatment of tongue cancer is complicated. In addition to the problem of the tumor itself, the doctor has to deal with the difficulties that can arise when operating on a part of the body that is important for eating and speaking, especially if the cancer is advanced and recovery is more difficult.
Tongue tumour
Fortunately, in many cases, tongue cancer is discovered early. However, some patients ignore the symptoms and wait too long before seeking medical attention. In some less fortunate cases, the tumor grows slowly and only shows symptoms when it is already advanced.
It’s very important to go to the doctor any time you notice something strange on your tongue that lasts longer than two weeks. If the cancer is discovered early, a less invasive operation can be performed.
Even in early cases, surgery is often required to remove the tumour and some of the surrounding tissue. Sometimes, it is also necessary to remove certain lymph nodes from the neck, as malignant cells can spread there.
Risk factors
The main risk factors for tongue cancer are :
- TOBACCO: Smokers are six times more likely to develop tongue cancer than non-smokers. 90% of people with this disease smoke. After surgery, 40% of those who continue to smoke develop a new tumor or a recurrence, while only 6% of those who stop smoking have this problem. Chewing tobacco, common in some Asian countries, is also very dangerous.
- ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: People who drink alcohol, particularly hard liquor, are six times more likely to develop tongue cancer. 75% of those who develop the disease drink alcohol. If a person smokes and drinks heavily, the risk of getting the disease is 15 times higher than someone who doesn’t smoke or drink.
- HPV INFECTIONS: The role of the HPV virus in the development of tongue cancer is still under investigation.
- Plummer-Vinson syndrome: This syndrome causes anemia and atrophy of the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat and esophagus, and appears to be linked to the development of tongue cancer.
Tongue cancer symptoms
The symptoms of tongue cancer can be different for each person and include :
- Sores or ulcers on the tongue that do not heal.
- Pain or discomfort in the tongue or mouth.
- Difficulty chewing or swallowing.
- Swelling or bumps on the tongue.
- Voice changes.
- Ear pain.
Unfortunately, cancer of the tongue often develops without any immediate visible symptoms. The tissues of the tongue do not prevent the tumor from growing, so symptoms only appear when the tumor affects the ability to move the tongue.
The parts of the tongue most affected are the edges, but the base of the tongue (the less visible back part) can also be affected. The first signs may be difficulty in speaking (as if you had something in your mouth) or swallowing. If the tumor affects the lingual nerve, it may cause pain radiating to the ear, but tongue cancer often causes no pain at all. In some cases, at the time of diagnosis, swollen lymph nodes can already be felt in the neck, a sign that the cancer has spread.
Diagnosis of tongue cancer in Turkey
Diagnosis is based on a thorough ENT examination with fibrolaryngoscopy, which must include a precise collection of the patient’s clinical and disease history (smoking, alcohol, pain, weight loss, ear pain, dysphagia will all be factors to look for) and a thorough analysis. Physical examination also includes palpation of the structures of the oral cavity and lymph glands of the neck and oral cavity. It is also very important to check the patient’s nutritional status, as patients often come for observation undernourished due to swallowing problems.
To ascertain the true extent of the pathology, and whether the lymph nodes in the neck are involved, the patient should always undergo a contrast-enhanced radiological examination (CT or MRI, as appropriate), and it is also always advisable to carry out a thoracic examination to rule out concomitant pulmonary masses.
A definitive diagnosis can only be obtained by taking a biopsy of the lesion, which can be performed either under local anesthetic for easily accessible areas or, after planning the surgical procedure in Turkey, in the phases preceding it when the patient is already asleep.
Tongue cancer therapy
Treatment of tongue cancer depends on the location, size and stage of the tumor, and may include :
Surgery: surgical removal of the tongue tumor in Turkey and, in some cases, the surrounding lymph nodes.
Radiotherapy: Use of high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells.
Chemotherapy: Use of anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells or reduce their growth.
Treatment of tongue tumours is mainly surgical, and solutions vary according to the extent of the pathology.
For small tumors, less invasive surgical procedures can be performed, such as simply removing the tumor with a safe margin. However, for larger or hard-to-reach tumors, more complex surgical procedures may be required, sometimes necessitating temporary removal of the jaw and reconstruction with tissue taken from other parts of the body.
It’s not necessary to go into detail about all possible operations, but depending on the size of the tumour and the number of lymph nodes involved, radiotherapy may be necessary after surgery.
