Oral Cancer Research Papers

As human beings, the oral cavity plays a crucial role in every aspect of our daily life. The digestion process begins in the oral cavity. We use our teeth for mastication of food, which allows our body to nourish itself with nutrients that are crucial to our health. Our teeth also give us our individual facial features that are unique from one another. Our tongues help us to communicate with each other in thousands of different languages. Our mouth is used to express our emotions when words are absent. Using our mouth, humans can create music, taste exotic flavors, take in oxygen, and show signs of adoration with our children and partners. Without the function of our mouth and oral cavity, the quality of life is affected physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Billions of dollars have been spent on cancer research in the last few decades, and yet science have not found a definite solution in preventing cancer. Oral cancer is one of the most disfiguring type of cancers as treatment can consist of removing a significant portion of the facial structure. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 49,670 people will get oral cancer and of those, an estimated 9,700 people will die from it. Oral cancer accounts for only 2.9% of new cases in the United States (Howlader). Though the percentage is small, the most concerning aspect about oral cancer is that it can go unnoticed or is overlooked until it reaches to the distant stage, which has the five-year survival rate at approximately 38.5% (Howlader). Oral cancer is categorized into three stages: localized, regional, and distant. Localized stage is when the cancer is confined to a primary site. Regional stage is when the cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes, and in distant stage, the cancer has already