BACKGROUND: According to the American Cancer Society, more than 34,000 new cases of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year. In the United States, someone dies from oral cancer every hour of every day. Oral cavity cancer is about twice as likely to affect men as women and is more common in blacks than in whites. About one-third of cases occur in people younger than age 55. Rates of oral cancers vary widely from country to country. While they are much more common in Hungary and France than in the United States, they are much less common in Mexico and Japan. Researchers believe the differences are likely caused by environmental risk factors.

PROGNOSIS: Like most cancers, the earlier oral cancers are found, the better the chances of survival. With early detection, there is an 80 percent to 90 percent survival rate. When diagnosed at a later stage, only half of patients will be alive five years later. Annual visits to a dentist can go a long way in detecting oral cancer early. Dentists can perform visual examinations of the oral cavity and are trained to spot abnormalities that might exist. Dental X-rays can also show potential cancerous areas in the mouth.

BETTER, EARLIER DETECTION: Though it's valuable when dentists and even patients themselves spot an abnormality in the oral cavity, by the time it's reached the surface tissue in the mouth where it can be seen, it may already be at an advanced stage. Finding a cancerous or pre-cancerous area in the mouth before it shows up on a visual examination gives patients a better shot at survival. Dentists now have a way to do that.

Dentists are using a new device called VELscope that can spot cancers well beneath the surface tissue of the mouth. The technology is based on the visualization of tissue fluorescence and changes that occur in the presence of abnormal cells. In an exam that takes less than five minutes, the handheld device is simply shined in a patient's mouth, emitting a band of high-energy blue light. That light excites the cells below the surface tissue and causes them to fluoresce. The healthy tissue shows up as a green glow and any suspicious areas show up dark or black. If a suspicious area is seen, a biopsy is done to determine if it is indeed cancerous or precancerous. Steven Brattesani, D.D.S., from Marina Pacific Heights Dental Care in San Francisco, says spotting cancer far below the surface tissue allows for detection earlier than ever before possible. He says, "If we can get it before the volcano erupts, that's quite a difference. Usually, at that level, it's 80 percent treatable and you have a higher survivability factor."

DOES YOUR DENTIST HAVE IT? VELscope is FDA approved and available for dentists. To find out if your dentist has the VELscope technology, log onto: http://www.velscope.com/velscope/knowledgeNet/patients.php

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Steven Brattesani, DDS

VELscope Web site

Oral Cancer Foundation