Shawdesh desk:

One can experience unexplained bleeding and pain in the gums due to loosening of the teeth or weakening of the gums, which can also be a vital sign of a form of oral cancer known as gum cancer, Hindustan Times reported.

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Rajeev Sharan, HOD and Senior Consultant, Head and Neck Cancer and Thyroid Surgery at Kolkata’s HCG EKO Cancer Centre, explained, “Gum cancer is a form of an oral cancer. It is a type of head and neck cancer that begins when the cells in either the upper or the lower gums begins to grow out of control and form lesions or tumours.”

People, who are habituated to smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes or are used to chewing tobacco, gutkha, hookah or shush, are most likely to contract oral cancer or gum related cancer.

Early signs and symptoms of gum cancer:

● A mouth sore that does not heal for 3-4 weeks

● White or reddish patch inside mouth

● Loose teeth

● A growth or lump inside the mouth

● Pain in the mouth and ear

● Difficulty in chewing and swallowing

● Swelling or thickening, lump or rough spots or eroded areas on lips, gums, cheeks or other areas inside the mouth

● Unexplained bleeding or numbness, loss of feeling of the lips or pain and tenderness in any area of the face, mouth or neck

● Unexplained weight loss

Stages of gum cancer

Some of the different stages of oral cancer are:

● Stage 1 – The abnormal lining of cells has progressed into cancer cells. They are small in nature and have not spread to the lymph nodes or to any other part of the body.

● Stage 2 – The abnormal cancer tumours grow but have not spread to the lymph nodes to any other part of the body.

● Stage 3 – The tumours are larger than 4 cm in diameter and have reached the neck’s lymph nodes.

● Stage 4 – The tumours have spread to nearby tissue, such as the jaw or other parts of the oral cavity and also distant parts of the body beyond the mouth, such as the lungs.

Treatment

According to Dr Rajeev Sharan, some of the prominent treatment for gum cancer are:

● Mandibulectomy – A procedure to remove cancerous lesions around the jawbone which may be marginal or segmental mandibulectomy depending on the extent of disease.

● Partial Maxillectomy – Surgery to remove cancer in the upper gum or roof of the mouth

● Neck dissection – Surgery to remove the lymph nodes in the neck that contain or are likely to contain the cancer cells

● Jaw bone reconstruction – In case of segmental mandibulectomy, jaw bone can be reconstructed with leg bone (fibula) with help of microvascular surgery

● Adjuvant radiation or chemoradiation in the post op, depending upon the final pathology reports