New Tool Helps Dentists Identify Oral Cancer Early

Many aren't even aware of it, but every time a patient visits the dentist, they're checked for oral cancer.

Dentists now have a new tool to make the screening better. It's called ViziLite -- a small blue light that highlights thickenings in the mouth's mucous membranes that could be pre-malignant.

Dr. Denis Lynch of the Marquette University Dental School said it can detect oral cancer at an early stage when it's most treatable.
"Oral cancer is the fifth most-common cancer in men; the 12th most-common cancer in woman," Lynch said. "One of the advantages (of ViziLite) is that it helps individuals who don't necessarily see oral cancer on a regular basis visualize those lesions, whereas under ambient light, or normal light, they might be overlooked."

Smoking, chewing tobacco and alcohol abuse are the leading causes of oral cancer, but health professionals are concerned about a growing number of cases that have no obvious cause.

"We're seeing an increasing number of individuals developing mouth cancer who don't have high-risk factors; they don't use tobacco, they don't use alcohol, but they are still coming down with the disease," Lynch said.

The American Cancer Society says oral cancer will strike more than 34,000 Americans this year. Roughly 7,000 will die from it.

The glowing blue ViziLite is just on screening tool. Dentists can also use a brush to take a swab of cells from a suspicious spot or a dye to highlight them.

"This is truly one of those situations where a dentist can save someone's life by early detection and treatment," Lynch said.

One other area of research is the link between viruses and oral cancer, specifically the Human Papilloma Viruses. HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer and it also has a relationship to oral cancer. Researchers are trying to determine how strong that relationship is.