Expert Consensus on the Detection and Screening of Oral Cancer and Precancer.

ABSTRACT

Oral cancer is an aggressive disease with a high incidence in both males and females in Asia and ranks as the first of all malignancies in India. The relatively high prevalence rate of oral cancer in Asia is mainly due to the fact that a high percentage of the population are smokers or chew betel nut. They comprised the so called 'high risk population' of oral cancer. Meanwhile, epidemiological surveys showed a much lower 5-year survival rate in patients with advanced TNM stage III and IV oral cancer than those in the earlier stage I and II disease after treatment. Therefore, it is important to identify and treat precancerous lesions and oral cancer at early stages. In this article, we describe the expert consensus contributed by outstanding clinicians and scientists at the 11th Asian Congress of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery (ACOMS) and we highlight the importance of oral cancer screening by various conventional and novel methods based on scientific research.