Oral cancer is a part of group of cancers that affects in the tissues of mouth or parts of the mouth, the lips and oral cavity such as tongue, gums and floor of the mouth, palate, cheeks and upper throat. Oral cavity begins at the lips and extends backwards to the front part of the tonsils or oropharynx which is the part of the throat. Mouth cancer has also been linked to having changes in your genes and having some types of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in your mouth.

The development of oral cancer often to begin with the exposure of the areas -like mouth, tongue, throat, pharynx, and oesophagus, collectively called mucosal surfaces of the upper aerodigestive tract- to substances that can cause cellular changes known as topical carcinogens like alcohol and tobacco leading to cancer. Individuals exposed to these carcinogens or co-carcinogens, tend to develop premalignant and malignant lesions in a multi-step process within the mucosa. It is not clear whether all of the tumours have an apparent precancerous state.

Emerging studies assumes that persons who develop head or neck cancer may have
suffered with genetic alterations in tumour suppressor genes.
Furthermore, these altered genes may combine with other oncogenes,
such as RAS, and this combination facilitate the growth of cells that
leading to tumour progression. This is considered as a
multifunctional process associated with cutaneous carcinogenesis too.
In addition, increasing immunosuppression caused by HIV infection can
also appears to predispose the oral mucosa to malignant alterations.
‘Immune suppression caused by HIV infection’ refers to the
weakening of immune system due to Human Immunodeficiency Viruses that
depletes CD4+ T cells in the immune system. As a result the system
fails to detect abnormal cell growth so as to fight harmful invaders
in the moist tissues inside the mouth. It highlights the complex
interaction of genetic and immune factors in oral cancer development.

Diverse Origins in the Oral Cancer

Neoplasms of diverse cellular origin can develop in the oral regions,
including;

1. Nasopharyngeal
   carcinoma originates in the upper part of the throat behind the nose

2. Lymphoma involves
   swelling of lymph nodes or masses in soft tissues like the tonsils

3. Mucosal melanoma
   arises from melanocytes in the mucosal lining of the oral cavity
   found on the hard palate or gums.

4. Sarcomas
   originates from connective tissues such as bone like osteosarcoma,
   cartilage like chondrosarcoma, or muscle in the oral regions.

5. Salivary gland
   tumours often develops in the salivary glands located in the mouth
   and jaw

Oral cancer is lethal because, it may not be noticed in its early stages
by the patient, as it can frequently spread without pain or other
symptoms they might readily recognise. After the first encounter, the
risk of producing second primary tumours among survivors of oral
cancer is 20 times higher. It can last 5-10 years after the first
occurrence. There are several types of oral cancers, but around 90%
of oral malignancies are squamous cell carcinomas and they arise from
the mucosa of the oral cavity and are epithelial in origin.

Epidemiology

According to W.H.O oral cancer is the 13th most common cancer worldwide
accounts 2-3 per cent of all cancer cases. Since the cancer being
normally discovered metastasis stages, the mortality rate associated
with oral cancer is particularly high as 50 per cent over the period.
At the same time, oral cancer constitutes 2 per cent among global
cancer deaths. The lack of access to promotive, preventive and early
detection programmes increase the risk. Early detection programmes
that target high-risk populations, may reduce oral cancer incidence
and mortality, particularly of the advanced stages of cancer.

High risk populations are mostly in the regions like South Asia where
includes India and Sri Lanka and other countries. Contrary to the 5%
cancer cases in economically developed countries, oral cancer
constitutes nearly 30 to 40 per cent of all cancers in South Asia,
attributed to widespread use of tobacco, betel and areca nut. India
has one third of oral cancer cases in the world. Oral cancer often
occurs in people over the age of 40 and increase the risk as
increasing the age. It affects more than twice as many men as women,
accounting 65 to 70 per cent of global cases. Whereas, it accounts
for around 30% of all cancers in India.

Symptoms

Symptoms of oral cancer are very common and can be caused by other less
serious conditions as well. However, persistence of some signs
warrants immediate medical attention.

It includes;

1. Non-healing ulcer
   in the mouth that lasts more than 3 weeks, which may not positively
   respond to the normal ulcer healing treatments.

2. Similarly, a
   thickened or rough red or white patch inside the mouth known as
   erythroplakia or leukoplakia respectively are precancerous
   conditions.

3. Hard and painless
   lumps in the mouth or on the lips

4. Dysphagia or
   difficulty swallowing due to obstructing tumours in the throat or
   oral cavity

5. Tumours near vocal
   cords or throat may make difficulty speaking or produce hoarse
   (croaky) voice

6. And pain (in the
   oral region) or weight loses are common symptoms of all cancers

Having the symptoms does not definitely indicate oral cancer, but it should
not be ignored and is important to undergo diagnosing as early and
finding it early may mean it is easier to treat.

Causes

The exact causes of oral cancer remains unknown, but many risk factors
that significantly influence the development of oral cancer.
Lifestyle related factors are one among them. One may be more likely
to get mouth cancer if certain lifestyle is dominant such as tobacco
use and alcohol consumption. The effective control of these two other
risk factors is attainable and worthwhile. Tobacco smoking and
alcohol consumption are the main drivers of oral cancer in most
countries, although smokeless tobacco and chewing of areca nut
products are the top causes in South and South-East Asia and in the
Western Pacific islands.

However, oral cancers can also occur in some patients without any history of
tobacco or alcohol usage and without apparent risk factors. Ageing is
a risk factor without a solution due to cumulative exposure to
carcinogens. Leucoplakia condition in the mouth may develop into oral
cancer if untreated.

People with inherited defects in certain genes may have a significantly high
risk of developing oral and middle throat cancers, also known as oral
and oropharyngeal cancers. These genetic defects can influence cell
growth, repair DNA and respond to damage, thereby increasing
susceptibility to cancer.

Survival Rate

In allopathic medicine, several diseases like cancer are considered
‘incurable’ because they lack definitive cures. For cancer,
treatment often involves long-term symptom management rather than
complete eradication of the disease. After diagnosis, patients may
require prolonged treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, or
targeted therapies depending on the condition, along with lifelong
medications to manage symptoms or prevent recurrence. Consequently,
discussions around cancer focus on survival rates, which means that
the proportion of patients who live for a specific period
post-diagnosis and the risk of disease recurrence after a period of
decline. This highlights the chronic nature of cancer management in
allopathic medicine.

Even if five-year global survival rate for oral cancer is expectedly 50 per
cent, it significantly depends on the time of detection. Early
detection often increase the survival rate up to 80 per cent.
However, late detection may drop the rate to below 30 per cent.

Treatments

All cancer treatments are highly expensive and very painful for long
period. These treatments not only target diseased cells but also harm
healthy cells leading to weaken a healthy person and his/her
immunity. Nutritional deficiencies, weight loss, and muscle weakness
are some of the common challenges. Even after such treatments the
recurrence remains a major problem because most of the time cancer
cells survive initial treatments and may grow later.

Surgery
is often necessary to remove mouth cancer,
including nearby lymph glands in the neck if needed. In some cases,
surrounding tissue, such as part of the tongue or jaw, may also be
removed to prevent recurrence of the disease. For complex cases,
reconstructive surgery, using skin or bone from other parts of the
body may be required to regenerate the affected area.

Radiotherapy
uses high-energy radiation passing through
the affected area to destroy cancer cells. It is often used to treat
mouth cancer because it is considered to be highly effective. If the
cancer is diagnosed early radio treatment alone may be sufficient. In
more advanced stages, radiotherapy is often combined with other
treatments, such as surgery or chemotherapy,

Chemotherapy
involves the use of powerful medicines to destroy cancer cells. It is
sometimes combined with radiotherapy in treating mouth cancer.
Targeted therapy uses medicines designed to specifically target
cancer cells while minimising damage to healthy tissues.
Immunotherapy helps boost the immune system to identify and destroy
cancer cells effectively, offering a newer approach in cancer
treatment.

All these are used in early stage oral cancer but if it is diagnosed with
advanced mouth cancer, it may be hard to treat and not possible to
cure. Then the aim of treatment will be to slow down the growth and
spread of the cancer, to help with the symptoms, and help you live
longer.

Homoeopathic Remedy for Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is occurs due to mutations in tumour suppressor genes,
oncogenes, and DNA repair genes. These genetic changes, coupled with
environmental and lifestyle risk factors like tobacco, alcohol, or
HPV infection, lead to the uncontrolled growth of epithelial cells
and the formation of tumours. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) typically
begins in the squamous cells of the mucous membranes in the mouth,
such as the tongue, gums, cheeks, or the floor of the mouth. It can
invade surrounding tissues and metastasize to lymph nodes or distant
organs if untreated.

Homoeopathy suggests that treating only the external or superficial
manifestations of a disease without addressing the underlying cause,
can push the disease deeper into the body. This is called suppression
that lead to more severe or complex conditions affecting internal
organs. Diseases often evolve from simpler to more complex forms if
only palliative measures are used. In other words, disease develops
from external or functional to internal or structural forms. Hence,
homoeopathy suggests treating the individual as a whole, including
mental, emotional, and physical aspects, rather than merely
addressing surface-level symptoms. The treatment aims to restore the
imbalanced vital force to heal the body from within.

In the case of oral cancer, persistent superficial conditions such as
chronic issues in mucosal membranes in mouth develop deepen into
chronic diseases if suppressed. SCC often arises in areas of chronic
inflammation, such as leucoplakia and erythroplakia which are
precancerous conditions. These pre-cancerous lesions are considered
as warning signs of deeper pathological processes. Without
understanding the underlying triggers, lesions should not be treated
symptomatically because it suppress the symptoms and potentially
leading to malignancy.

Like other cancers, oral cancer is also the result of any previous
suppression that had been encountered in our life that manifests
today. Homoeopathy cancer remedies act on the body’s subtle energy
fields, prompting repair signals at the cellular level. These
remedies trigger the body’s inherent ability to replace degenerated
cells with functional cells. At the same time, it strengthens the
immune response by stimulating the production of immune cells and
enhancing their function to eliminate harmful cells without evading
from the immune system. Homoeopathy supports the body’s natural
defence mechanisms in healing oral cancer completely.