Perception of Healthcare Practitioners of the Importance of Routine Oral-Cancer Screening

Abstract

Introduction: In recent times, both the incidence of and death rate from oral cancers (OC) have decreased significantly due to preventive measures, early detection techniques and enhanced knowledge of clinical signs and symptoms of the disease. Oral cancer is the 11 th most common cancer in the world with approximately 389,000 new cases per year. In Saudi Arabia, it is the 3 rd most diagnosed malignancy. A direct relationship between tobacco use and oral cancer has been established. The Saudi smoker population has been observed to consume over 80 million cigarettes annually. Smoking among the Saudi general population has reached 52.3%, which makes Saudi smokers high-risk patients of oral cancer. As tumors of the oral cavity arise on an accessible and partially visible epithelial surface, they should, in principle, be diagnosed early. However, many of these tumors are diagnosed only when they are at an advanced TNM stage, typically in late terminal stages.