Head and neck cancers: oral, oropharyngeal basics
Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) · MBBS
Study notes
A gutka chewer's white patch turns into a non-healing ulcer — biopsy shows carcinoma. Tobacco (smoked + smokeless — gutka/khaini: areca nut + tobacco) drives oral cancer — premalignant stages (leukoplakia — white patch; erythroplakia — red, higher risk; oral submucous fibrosis — burning, trismus) precede it by years. A non-healing ulcer >2 weeks needs biopsy — early surgery cures, late needs neck dissection + radiotherapy. The white patch is the warning — the ulcer is the verdict.
Related topics
- Ear: anatomy and physiology of hearing and balance
- Ear: otitis externa, otitis media — acute, chronic, complications
- Ear: hearing loss — types, audiometry, hearing aids
- Ear: vertigo — Meniere's disease, BPPV, vestibular neuritis
- Ear: otosclerosis, facial nerve disorders, ear tumors
- Nose: rhinitis — allergic, vasomotor; nasal polyps