What is invasive tongue cancer

There are many patients with tongue cancer now, and many of them have invasive tongue cancer. I believe that many people don’t know much about it, but it does cause considerable harm and damage to patients. Some people even lose their lives because of it. So, let us understand what invasive tongue cancer is.

Tongue cancer is the most common oral cancer, more common in men than in women. Most tongue cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, especially in the front two-thirds of the tongue. Adenocarcinomas are less common and are mostly located at the root of the tongue. Lymphoepithelial carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinomas can also occur at the root of the tongue. Tongue cancers often occur at the edge of the tongue, followed by the tip, back and root of the tongue, and are often ulcerative or infiltrative.

Generally, the malignancy is high, the growth is fast, and the invasion is strong. It often affects the tongue muscles, resulting in limited tongue movement, making it difficult to speak, eat, and swallow. Tongue cancer can invade the palatine arch and tonsils backwards. In the late stage, tongue cancer can spread to the floor of the mouth and the jawbone, fixing the entire tongue. In the early stage, tongue cancer can manifest as ulcer, exogenous, and invasive types.

Tongue cancer often presents with ulcers and infiltration, accompanied by spontaneous pain and varying degrees of tongue movement disorders. In the late stage of tongue cancer, it can directly exceed the midline or invade the floor of the mouth, as well as infiltrate the lingual periosteum, bone plate or bone of the mandible. Backward, it can extend to the root of the tongue or the anterior pillar of the pharynx and the lateral wall of the pharynx. At this time, tongue movement can be severely restricted and fixed, saliva increases and overflows, and it cannot be controlled. Eating, swallowing, and speaking are all difficult. The pain is severe and can be reflected to half of the head.

The lymph node metastasis rate of tongue cancer is relatively high, usually about 40%. The most common metastatic site is the deep cervical lymph node group. In the late stage of tongue cancer, lung metastasis or distant metastasis to other parts of the body may occur.

Now everyone knows what invasive tongue cancer is. Can you accurately determine whether you have invasive tongue cancer? If you find early symptoms, go to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible and don't miss the best time for treatment.