2023-05-02 16:04:56
“Italians go to the dentist less frequently. They give up checks and not only treatments in the public and private spheres due to their lower spending power. Furthermore, in addition to smoking and alcohol, the role of the Papillomavirus is overwhelmingly making its way (Hpv) especially in young people: more than 20% of oral cancer cases originate from this etiological agent”. This was underlined by Evangelista Giovanni Mancini, president of the Andi onlus Foundation, to highlight how initiatives such as the Oral cancer day – which returns to Italian squares on Saturday 13 May – are still necessary “after more than 16 years of commitment to raise awareness among Italian citizens and activate dentists to be increasingly effective in the early diagnosis of mouth cancer. But it is still not enough”.
The epidemiological scenario, the expert points out, “is stable, but with too many cases diagnosed in the late phase, when the possibilities for treatment are fewer and more invasive and 5-year survival is reduced. This is reported by maxillofacial surgeons and otorhinolaryngologists, or those to whom patients turn when the lesions are symptomatic: pain, bleeding, ulcerations, difficulty in swallowing. “the fact that citizens go to the dentist less frequently”.
“The sentinel dentist must be not only a slogan – specifies the specialist – but the professional role of our clinical activity. It should be emphasized that the importance of an early detection of the disease can be seen from the data on the 5-year survival rate, which it is around 50-60%: worrying numbers because the prognosis worsens when the disease, not having been intercepted in time, has progressed Low socio-economic status, advanced age and alcohol and tobacco consumption – lists Mancini – are risk factors in 70% of cases”.
The campaign of the Foundation which refers to the National Association of Italian Dentists – explains a note – will allow citizens to book a screening visit in the participating voluntary dental practices. To do this, simply go to the website www.oralcancerday.it and locate the one closest to your home from 15 May to 16 June, or call the toll-free number 800 058 444. The visit takes place in a simple way, through a careful check of all the patient’s oral mucosa, in order to detect the presence of any lesions, to decide whether and when to refer the identified laceration to the specialist and, if necessary, refer the patient to a second-level facility for the definitive diagnosis.
Info points dedicated to providing citizens with all the information on the importance of periodic checks of one’s mouth, not only for dental health, will be set up in the squares of the main Italian cities on 13 May. The list of squares will be available on the website www.oralcancerday.it. The tools used by Fondazione Andi onlus, since the first edition in 2007, are determined to try to further reduce, through an early interception, the approximately 9,000 cases of cancer of the head and neck area – of which over 4,000 of the oral cavity alone – which every year they affect the Italians. The incidence in Italy is 7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (8 per 100,000 in males and 5 per 100,000 in females).
To strongly combat this form of cancer, often underestimated, Italian dentists have joined forces with Aiolp (Italian Association of Freelance Otorhinolaryngologists), Fnomceo (National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists), Sicmf (Italian Society of Maxillofacial Surgery ), Sioechcf (Italian Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery) and Sipmo (Italian Society of Pathology and Oral Medicine).
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