ABSTRACT

Various tumors are known to affect the oral cavity, the most important of which are squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), verrucous carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and lymphoma. The oral cavity is an oval-shaped structure demarcated by the lips anteriorly, the cheeks laterally, the floor of the mouth inferiorly, the palate superiorly, and the oropharynx posteriorly. Oral SCC often looks like scaly red patches, open sores, elevated growths with a central depression, or warts on the lip or lateral part of the tongue. Standard treatments for oral cavity cancer are surgery and radiotherapy. Risk factors for oral cavity cancer include tobacco smoking/chewing, alcohol drinking, betel quid or gutka chewing, diet low in beta-carotene-rich vegetables and citric fruits, poor oral health, infection with Candida albicans, human herpes virus, and human papillomavirus, exposure to sunlight or UV, premalignant lesions and other oral conditions, and immunosuppression.