Oral Cancer Awareness Among Medical & Dental Students of Bahria University Medical and Dental College

Abstract

Pakistan has a high rate of incidence of oral cancer. In Pakistan, betel nut, betel quid and tobacco are found to be the most important causative agents of oral cancer. Timely detection and diagnosis of oral cancers can improve their responsive to treatments, consequently decreasing mortality rate and increasing the prognosis rate. The objective of this study was to report the knowledge and information about the different causes, risk factors and clinical appearance of oral cancer among undergraduate dental and medical students and to further identify the changes and improvements required in the teaching strategies. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional survey was done among 400 medical and dental undergraduate students of Bahria Medical and Dental University Karachi. The tool used to evaluate awareness of oral cancer was a self-administered questionnaire taken from Carter to Odgen. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS software (v-16) to calculate mean descriptive and percentages of the awareness about causes and early signs of oral cancer among undergraduate students. RESULTS: Students of dentistry were found to have a habit of examining the oral mucosa as compared to the medical students. Betel nut chewing and tobacco were the commonly identified risk factors. Non-healing ulcer was recognized as the common clinical change pertaining to oral cancer. Out of all students, only 6% were found to be very well informed. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that curriculum of medical and dental students should be improved by incorporating more interactive teaching sessions such as seminars, OPD training sessions and awareness programs for oral cancer. More emphasis should be given on oral examination by medical students during their clinical years to enhance their knowledge about oral cancer improving its prognosis.

Awareness About the Oral Cancer Among Undergraduate Students of Allied Health Sciences in Peshawar.

“…The majority of oral cancers-about 90%-are squamous cell carcinomas (8) (9). Oral cancer, with its highly unpredictable morbidity rate, is one of the most common malignancies affecting the general population of Pakistan today (10). In most ethnic groups, men are two to three times more likely than women to get oral cancer (1).…”

“…About 200,000 deaths occur due to oral cancer annually worldwide (12). Oral and lip cancer accounts for 8.6 per cent of all new cancer cases in Pakistan and is responsible for 7.2 per cent of all cancer deaths in Pakistan (10). The results, released by Shaukat Khanam Cancer Hospital in Lahore, showed that oral cancer is the third most common cancer in Pakistani women after breast and ovarian cancer.…”

“…The results, released by Shaukat Khanam Cancer Hospital in Lahore, showed that oral cancer is the third most common cancer in Pakistani women after breast and ovarian cancer. In addition, oral cancer is the third most common type of cancer in men after prostate cancer (10). A study conducted in California showed a strong link between exposure to ultraviolet radiation and oral cancer in women.…”