There are various types of cancer treatments. The treatment is decided based on a wide variety of factors. Most of these factors are explained by the stage at which cancer is present. The doctor may run a few tests to understand the stage of cancer and the individual needs to understand the seriousness of the situation, the extent to which the tumor has spread, and certain elaborate details about the tumor. This will help craft an action plan.

Based on the stage that oral cancer is at, the treatment options available for individuals are as follows:

Stage 0
At this stage, cancer is only present on the surface layers and will spread to other parts if not treated immediately. The treatment plan here is usually surgery in which the affected tissue will be removed along with a small margin around it. The specific treatment options that can be chosen are surgical stripping, Mohs surgery, or thin resection. Follow-up post this surgery is of utmost importance. In case the cancer recurs, radiation therapy can be used.

Stage 1 & 2
Patients who have been affected by oral cancer in these stages have been observed to react well when treated with surgery and/or radiation therapy. The method of treatment to be used is based on a wide variety of factors that are unique to each individual at the first level. Other things that are taken into account while making this choice would be how the treatments affect the individual and how it would affect the patient’s appearance. In addition to these treatment options, chemoradiation (the combination of chemotherapy and radiation) is used. While this can be administered alone, it is generally used after the initial stage of treatment, such as surgery, to get rid of any residual cancer cells.

Stage 3 & 4A
To understand the treatment options at these stages, oral cancer is divided into two types, namely oral cavity cancers and oropharyngeal cancers. Oral cavity cancers comprise cancers that occur in the inside of the cheek, gums, the floor of the mouth, hard palate, and in front of the tongue. Oropharyngeal cancers, on the other hand, include the ones that develop on the soft palate, back of the tongue, and tonsils. At this stage, the tumor increases in size and affects the nearby organs and lymph nodes.

The treatment option resorted in the case of oral cavity cancers is a combination of surgery and radiation therapy. Surgery would mostly include the removal of neck lymph nodes. The treatment option for oropharyngeal cancers is usually chemoradiation. The use of chemoradiation, along with the administration of cetuximab, is also being examined.

Stage 4B & 4C
In these stages, the nearby structures, lymph nodes, and other parts of the body may have been affected by cancer. The usual treatment option is chemotherapy, cetuximab, or a combination of both. The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy can be explored. Radiation therapy can be used to relieve the symptoms.