CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Vol 15, 21-24, Copyright
© 1965 by American Cancer Society
Recognition of Early Oral Cancer
Donald P. Shedd M.D.1,
Peter B. Hukill M.D.2,
Herbert R. Sleeper D.D.S.3, and
Morton M. Kligerman M.D.4
1 Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.
2 Associate Professor of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine.
3 Associate Clinical Professor of Dental Surgery, Yale University School of Medicine.
4 Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine.
We believe that careful examination should be made of the entire oral mucous membrane in search of such early mucosal changes as have been depicted here. A tentative diagnosis of cancer can be obtained by exfoliative cytology and established by biopsy. Appropriate therapeutic measures can then be carried out, with optimum chances for cure and minimal loss of tissue or function. In view of the easy accessibility of the oral cavity to direct inspection, there exists a great potential for reduction of the several thousand annual deaths from oral cancer by prompt detection of early lesions.