• 6/8/2008
  • Chicago, IL
  • Jeremy Manier
  • Chicago Tribute (www.chicagotribune.com)

Dental exams are considered the first line of defense for many forms of oral cancer, but the usefulness of such screening is unclear for HPV-related throat cancer.

Such tumors usually appear in the upper throat, which can be too far back for routine oral inspections to find them, experts said.

“Often we’ll get a referral from a dentist, but to be honest most of these patients’ tumors are not detected that way,” said Dr. Ezra Cohen, an oncologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

One of the most common ways of catching such cancers is during a routine physical, when doctors feel the patient’s neck for enlarged lymph nodes. If a patient or doctor feels a growth on the upper neck, the next step is often referral to an ear-nose-throat specialist, who can examine the upper throat by using an optical scope that’s guided down through the nose.

Although it’s difficult for dentists to catch HPV-positive throat cancers, a thorough dental exam can catch oral cancer at an early stage. A study presented in April at the meeting of the American Academy of Dental Research suggests that patients with HPV and swollen gums are at increased risk of tongue cancer.

Dr. Mine Tezal, a co-author of that paper, said dentists usually look for red or white discoloration of the gums, tongue or inside of the cheek.

“Anybody can have red and white lesions, but they usually heal in a couple of weeks,” said Tezal, a professor of oral diagnostic sciences at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. She said if a lesion persists for longer than a couple of weeks, patients should consider having a dentist or doctor examine it.