Oral cancer public policies: is there any evidence of impact?

Abstract

Investigation in oral cancer comprises many different fields such as epidemiology, risk factors, biological markers, diagnostic testing, screening, treatment and prognosis. Although many researchers have dealt with the oral cancer problem, it is unknown if any public policy is capable of reducing its incidence around the world under the scrutiny of the scientific method. This paper aims to briefly review and discuss the literature regarding oral cancer public policies and to screen the evidence of controlled implementations of oral health policies that have been able to diminish oral cancer incidence around the globe.

Oral cancer from a health promotion perspective: experience of a diagnosis network in Ceará

“…4 Unlike the associa-Braz Oral Res., (São Paulo) 2014;28(Spec Iss 1): [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] tion between sunlight and skin cancer, the association between sunlight and lip cancer is unknown to most, contributing to people's negligence towards their lips. 8 The dentists surveyed in this study believed that smokers are at the highest risk of oral cancer.…”

“…However, at present, there is no scientific evidence that any policy, anywhere in the world, has been capable of reducing the incidence of oral cancer. 7 The diagnoses of potentially malignant and malignant oral lesions in the sample reflect the successful integration of primary and secondary health care. However, as unprepared primary care professionals were incapable of providing diagnoses and performing biopsies, all the biopsies were performed at secondary health care facilities.…”

“…3 The main risk factors for oral squamous cell carcinoma are tobacco and alcohol consumption, 3,4,5,6 which are also risk factors for other head and neck malignancies, such as throat and maxillary sinus cancers. 7 However, the risk factors for squamous cell carcinoma of the lip are similar to those of skin cancer, with chronic sunlight exposure being the main risk factor. 8 Of the risk factors associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma, oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has gained great attention.…”

Abordagem do câncer da boca: uma estratégia para os níveis primário e secundário de atenção em saúde

“…Observa-se que frequentemente os usuários com essa doença são acolhidos como demanda espontânea, sendo que, em muitos casos, iniciase na atenção primária um fenômeno de sucessivos atrasos, do diagnóstico à referência, que acabam por adiar as possibilidades de abordagem precoce e consequentemente limitam as chances de sobrevida dos pacientes 5,6,7 .…”

“…Estudos apontam diversos fatores que limitam o enfrentamento da problemática do câncer da boca, e dentre estes são descritas as dificuldades de estabelecimento de políticas públicas dirigidas aos principais fatores de risco relacionados à ocorrência de neoplasia maligna oral 1,2,5,6 . Além disso, fatores relativos ao paciente e/ou ao profissional, juntos ou isolados, contribuem para a demora no diagnóstico do câncer de boca e suas consequências 7,8 .…”