What is the difference between mouth ulcers and tongue cancer?

What is the difference between mouth sores and tongue cancer?

Oral ulcers are different from tongue cancer in that they are of different nature, prone to occur in different parts of the body, and have different symptoms.

1. Different nature of the disease: Oral ulcers are ulcerative lesions that occur in the oral mucosa. The oral mucosa will be destroyed, defective, and pitted. It is a self-limiting disease that can usually heal itself in about seven days. Tongue cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the tongue of the mouth. It is generally highly malignant, grows fast, is highly invasive, and is easy to metastasize to other organs, causing systemic damage and even life-threatening.

2. Different sites of occurrence: Oral ulcers can occur in any part of the oral mucosa, most commonly on the lips, cheeks, and tongue. In severe cases, they can affect the pharyngeal mucosa. Tongue cancers usually occur on the edge of the tongue, followed by the tip, back, and root of the tongue, and are generally ulcerative or infiltrative.

3. Different symptoms: The main manifestation of oral ulcers is that the ulcers are oval or round, covered with a layer of yellow pseudomembrane, sunken in the middle, and have obvious pain. Most of them will heal within one to two weeks without leaving scars. Tongue cancer will have symptoms such as thickening of tissue and small nodules. As the disease progresses, ulcers or tumors will gradually form, and the floor of the mouth will be invaded. When the deep muscles of the tongue are damaged, slurred speech, difficulty chewing, and limited tongue movement will occur.

Oral ulcers usually do not need to be overly worried, and they can recover well. If tongue cancer occurs, it should be taken seriously and actively cooperate with the doctor's treatment to avoid delaying the disease. During the treatment of the disease, develop good eating and living habits and avoid eating spicy and irritating foods, otherwise the symptoms will become more serious.