Oral Cancer: A Focus on Prevention

This course will provide the oral health care team with tools to help identify oral potentially malignant disorders (PMDs). These PMDs are almost always present and visible before an HPV-negative oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) develops; therefore, detection of these PMDs is vital in improving the lives of those affected by PMDs and oral cancer in this country. Though the rate of HPV-negative OSCC has declined as the number of Americans who smoke has declined, the survival rate remains the same: overall, around 50% of these patients will succumb to their disease within 5 years. We will spend a great deal of time discussing leukoplakia, as this is the most common way in which oral PMDs present. The goal of the oral health care professional is to “catch” oral cancer before it develops; therefore, we will primarily discuss how to manage leukoplakia and what we can do for our patients to help lower their risk for developing an OSCC.

Course Objectives

At the completion of this course the participants should be able to:

1. Determine an appropriate treatment plan when potentially malignant conditions are discovered
2. Discuss the etiology of potentially malignant conditions of the oral cavity
3. Recognize how potentially malignant conditions present in the oral cavity