Why does tongue cancer favor women more? To prevent tongue cancer, you should pay attention to these points

In recent years, the incidence of tongue cancer has shown a clear upward trend, and tongue cancer poses a great threat to people's health. Tongue cancer is generally highly malignant, grows quickly, and is highly invasive. It often affects the tongue muscles, resulting in limited tongue movement and making it difficult to speak, eat, and swallow.

Tongue cancer is more common in women in recent years

In recent years, with the increase in women smoking and drinking, coupled with a preference for hot and irritating foods, tongue cancer has become the number one oral cancer in women. Ms. Liu, who is only 32 years old, was recently diagnosed with the disease. It is understood that she has been smoking for 10 years and often drinks. After getting off work in the middle of the night, she eats some spicy hot pot and barbecue at street stalls. When she gets home, she is too tired to even brush her teeth and goes to sleep. It is such bad living habits that have brought tongue cancer "close contact" with Ms. Liu.

It is reported that 45.9% of oral cancer patients currently suffer from tongue cancer, which is the largest oral cancer. Clinically, most of these patients have rotten teeth on the side of their tongues, which stimulate the tongue mucosa for a long time. Bad habits such as alcoholism and smoking, and long-term stimulation of the tongue mucosa are also closely related to the incidence of tongue cancer. In addition, most patients with tongue cancer have poor oral hygiene habits and often suffer from diseases such as periodontitis, which keep the oral mucosa under bacterial invasion for a long time. It can be seen from this that to stay away from tongue cancer, you need to do a good job of oral hygiene, develop good living habits, exercise properly, and strengthen your physical fitness in order to stay away from tongue cancer; it is worth mentioning that: at a time when tongue cancer continues to favor women and is becoming increasingly prevalent, when the disease is diagnosed, no matter what stage the disease progresses to, do not give up treatment. Only by insisting on treatment can it be possible to suppress the disease.

So, what are the risk factors for tongue cancer?

1. Poor oral hygiene: Not paying attention to oral hygiene is also one of the causes of tongue cancer. Poor oral hygiene can easily lead to various infections, and repeated damage from infections can easily induce cancer.

2. Mechanical stimulation: residual crowns and roots of teeth, sharp gingival edges, poor denture restorations, especially metal dentures, can stimulate the tongue mucosa to produce ulcers over a long period of time, eventually leading to cancer, which is also one of the causes of tongue cancer.

3. Chronic infection: Inflammation or ulcers on the tongue that do not heal for a long time may tend to become cancerous.

4. Chemical factors: Aromatic hydrocarbons in tobacco are carcinogenic, especially to cigar or pipe smokers. Long-term drinkers of strong alcohol have a 15 times higher chance of developing oral cancer. Tobacco and alcohol stimulation is one of the causative factors of tongue cancer, so people who drink and smoke should take precautions.

5. Malnutrition: Vitamin A and vitamin B deficiency can easily lead to cancer. In addition, other benign diseases of the tongue mucosa may become malignant, such as leukoplakia and erythema, ulceration or induration. Leukoplakia and erythema are called precancerous lesions because they have similar characteristics to squamous cell carcinoma in histology. Erythema and leukoplakia are often accompanied by oral cancer, especially erythema, which has a greater tendency to become malignant.

Prevention of tongue cancer can focus on the following five aspects:

1. Pay attention to oral hygiene: brush your teeth every morning and evening, and rinse your mouth after meals; have an oral examination 1-2 times a year. If you find any tooth or periodontal disease, treat it in time. If there is a lesion, it should be removed as soon as possible.

2. If benign lesions or precancerous lesions are found, such as papilloma of the tongue or erosive lichen planus, they should be removed and biopsied in time, or actively treated and observed regularly.

3. Grind the sharp non-functional cusps and marginal ridges to make the cusps and marginal ridges on the occlusal surface of the crown rounded and blunt to prevent damage to the lingual marginal tissue.

4. If there are cavities, they should be filled early: the residual crowns and roots that can be repaired and used should be treated in time to restore the normal anatomical shape of the teeth as soon as possible; the residual crowns and roots that are difficult to cure and use should be removed in time and replaced with dentures on time even if there are no symptoms such as inflammation and pain.

5. Quit bad habits such as smoking and drinking; strengthen physical exercise, improve nutrition, eat more fresh fruits rich in vitamins and have anti-cancer and anti-cancer effects, which are also very important for preventing the occurrence of tongue cancer.