What Is Oral-Facial-Digital Syndrome?

Malignant tumors of the oral and maxillofacial region are most commonly cancerous, with fewer sarcomas. Most of the cancers are squamous cell carcinoma, followed by glandular epithelial cancer, basal cell carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, and lymphoepithelial carcinoma.

Basic Information

Visiting department: Head and neck surgery
Common locations: Oral and maxillofacial

Common causes: White spots, palate, pigmented spots, chronic ulcers, etc.
Common symptoms: Ulcers, nodules, or nodules

Causes of oral and maxillofacial tumors

Most oral cancers occur in the exposed area and often have precancerous lesions. This is an advantage for the early detection and early treatment of oral cancers. The so-called precancerous lesion is a pathological change that may evolve into cancer, such as white spots, palate, pigmented spots, chronic ulcers, and so on. Not all of these lesions will develop into cancer, but it depends on other factors, and only a few will eventually develop into cancer. In order to prevent the occurrence of oral cancer, the above-mentioned lesions should be actively treated, and various adverse chronic stimulating factors should be eliminated, such as quitting smoking, removing roots and crowns, and removing bad repairs. For suspicious lesions, follow-up should be closely followed, and biopsy or resection if necessary.

Clinical manifestations of oral and maxillofacial tumors

Oral cancer can be divided into gingival cancer, lip cancer, cheek cancer, tongue cancer, floor cancer, sacral cancer, maxillary sinus cancer and so on according to its occurrence site. It is generally believed that the degree of cancer differentiation in the front of the oral cavity is higher and that in the back of the oral cavity is lower.

Oral cancer often manifests in three types: ulcerative, invasive, and papillary. It usually starts with local ulcers, nodules, or small nodules. Generally, there is no obvious spontaneous pain. As the cancer grows rapidly and infiltrates the surrounding and deep tissues, pain may occur. Enlargement of the induration, exudation of the mass, surface ulcers, or bulges of cauliflower, hard base, necrosis in the center, and foul odor. Often accompanied by infection, the surface is prone to bleeding. Cancers in different parts have different symptoms and dysfunction due to damage to adjacent tissues and organs. For example, tongue cancer has obvious pain and different degrees of tongue movement restriction, affecting swallowing, speech and other functions. It has a high degree of malignancy and rapid development, and lymph node metastasis can occur early. Gingival cancer often affects the alveolar bone, which easily loosens or loses teeth. It continues to expand and invade the jaw bone. It can invade the maxillary sinus in the maxillary bone and can affect the inferior alveolar nerve in the mandible, causing pain or numbness.

The metastasis of oral cancer is mainly lymphatic drainage to regional lymph nodes, and the most common are submandibular lymph nodes and deep cervical lymph nodes. A few can be transferred by blood. There may be distant metastases at later stages, the lungs are common, and cachexia may occur.

Oral and Maxillofacial Tumor Examination

1. X-ray inspection

Understand bone tumors and invasion.

Such as: odontogenic cysts, benign and malignant tumors of the jaw, etc., often use X-ray curved flat films, Maxwell's position, mandibular lateral position, maxillary occlusal films and so on. Chest radiographs are routinely performed for malignant tumors. The nature of parotid tumors can be understood by parotid angiography.

2.CT inspection

3.MRI examination

It is suitable for diagnosis of carotid body tumor, tongue root tumor, salivary gland tumor, and lymph node metastasis.

4. Ultrasound

For soft tissue tumors, it can be determined whether it is parenchymal or cystic, which accurately indicates the tumor size. In addition, the perimeter sharpness and the uniformity of the light spot distribution in the tumor are provided to determine whether the tumor is benign or malignant.

5. Radionuclide inspection (isotope inspection)

Differential diagnosis of oral and maxillofacial tumors

Tongue hemangioma

Is a common benign tumor of the tongue, more common in children and young people. Cavernous hemangioma is most common. Cavernous hemangioma can occur anywhere on the tongue. At the beginning of the tumor, it appears as a nodular bulge above the surface of the tongue, and the surface of the tongue is purple. The body is significantly enlarged, the mass that touches is soft, the boundary is unclear, and the mass that is compressed is reduced. When the pressure is relieved, the mass quickly returns to its original state, and the tumor gradually invades the surrounding tongue tissue. When the tumor increases, it affects the tongue function and speaking Unclear, dysphagia and dyspnea, the hemangioma further enlarges and causes tongue deformities.

Cavernous lymphangioma

It is mainly composed of dilated and flexed lymphatic vessels. Occurs in the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and intermuscular connective tissue space. The color of the epidermis is almost unchanged, compressive, very soft, and multilocular cysts communicate with each other, with structures like sponges. Head and neck disease is the most common, followed by lower limbs, arms, axillary and trunk. Lip and tongue disease can form giant labia (tongue) disease.

Oral and maxillofacial tumor treatment

The treatment plan should be determined according to the lesion of the cancer (tissue source, degree of differentiation, growth site, size of the lesion, lymph node metastasis, etc.) and the general condition of the patient. Treatment measures include surgical resection, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, cryosurgery, laser and Chinese herbal medicine. In most cases, comprehensive treatment should be used to achieve better results. The purpose of surgical resection is still an important treatment for oral cancer. Radical resection should be used for local lesions, and submandibular lymph node dissection or cervical lymph node dissection is necessary if necessary.