Is tongue cancer dangerous?

Doctors often advise people to avoid tongue cancer. Why do doctors often talk about tongue cancer? What is tongue cancer? Is the harm of tongue cancer so serious? When it comes to tongue cancer, many people don't know what it is. Can the tongue get cancer? What are the harms of tongue cancer? Is the harm of tongue cancer just an exaggeration by doctors or is it really serious?

Tongue cancer is the most common oral cancer, and it occurs more often in men than in women. Most tongue cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, especially in the front 2/3 of the tongue. Adenocarcinomas are less common and are mostly located at the root of the tongue. Lymphoepithelial carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma may also occur at the root of the tongue. Tongue cancer mostly occurs at the edge of the tongue, followed by the tip, back and root of the tongue, and is often ulcerative or infiltrative. It is generally highly malignant, grows fast, and is highly invasive. It often affects the tongue muscles, resulting in limited tongue movement, making it difficult to speak, eat and swallow. Tongue cancer can invade the palatoglossal arch and tonsils posteriorly. In the late stage, tongue cancer can spread to the floor of the mouth and jawbone, fixing the entire tongue.

Tongue cancer can invade the floor of the mouth, mandible, palatoglossal arch, and tonsils. The closer the lesion is to the root of the tongue, the more malignant it is. Since the tongue is active, with abundant lymphatic vessels and blood circulation, it is easy to metastasize to the lymph nodes at an early stage. Tongue cancer can metastasize to distant sites, most commonly the lungs.

So what are the dangers of tongue cancer?

1. Tongue cancer is often complicated by infection, and in the late stage it is often complicated by tissue necrosis, hemorrhage, and aspiration pneumonia.

2. Metastasis to the lingual and cervical lymph nodes occurs early, often limited to the pharyngeal and deep cervical lymph nodes. Root ulcers may also occasionally metastasize to the posterior styloid process and retropharyngeal lymph nodes. A small number of patients may have hematogenous metastasis, often to the lungs.

3. In some cases, the early symptoms of tongue cancer include difficulty in swallowing, aggravated pain when talking and eating, and may radiate to the same side of the ear. In the later stage, the tumor infiltrates into the stratum corneum and spreads to the oral cavity, which may restrict body movement and even cause constipation, resulting in drooling, and difficulty in eating, causing systemic nutritional disorders.

4. In the early stage of tongue cancer, there are often nodules or swellings at the edge of the tongue. Later, as the disease progresses, ulceration occurs in the center of the swelling and spreads to the parenchyma and para-epithelial tissue. The ulcer may appear cauliflower-like, with raised edges and an obvious hard infiltrated mass at the base.