Why We Fight
The Need for Early Detection and InterventionElevating the Standard of Care
Currently, a visual and physical examination is the standard for an oral cancer evaluation. This is followed by a biopsy if something suspicious or abnormal is found. However, two–thirds of cases are diagnosed at stage III or stage IV with this method, resulting in a low successful cure rate. In contrast, early detection can yield an 80% to 90% cure rate.2
What is needed is a simple, accurate,1 and cost–effective tool that can easily be adopted as part of the standard of care. Our goal is to empower clinicians with an aid that, along with other clinical factors, can help detect oral cancer earlier and improve potential outcomes through earlier intervention.
Addressing this need provides the opportunity for those at risk to reverse or change adverse lifestyles to lower the risk of potentially developing oral cancer. In situations where cancer started to develop, early detection testing could maximize the effectiveness of the treatment while also potentially minimizing the need for aggressive intervention that could significantly impair quality of life post–treatment.
TIMELY DIAGNOSIS OF ORAL CANCER HAS BEEN CHALLENGING
Because tests for oral cancer are usually visual, the disease is too often detected in the late stages where treatment is difficult.
- Early lesions are often not visible or they mimic other conditions
- Traditional palpation and visual examination cannot identify occult lesions
- Current testing options can be cumbersome, costly and difficult to interpret
For those who survive oral cancer diagnosed in the later stages, the treatment is painful, debilitating and often disfiguring. In addition, patients often struggle with:
- Eating and drinking
- Communicating
- Self image
EARLY DETECTION CAN HAVE A TREMENDOUS IMPACT
FOR PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES
†Clinical Data on File
2Oral Cancer Foundation
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