by Vera Martinella
Cancers of the mouth, throat, ears or nose are often diagnosed late because the symptoms are ignored or they are associated with a cold. Free visits from 18 to 22 September throughout Italy
A check-up can save your life because a diagnosis of early cancer makes a big difference between life and death. A concept valid for all tumors and even more so for those of the head and neck, whose initial symptoms are often ignored or associated with seasonal illnesses such as a common sore throat or a cold.
The 2023 edition of the Make Sense Campaign is based on this assumption. September 137 centers throughout Italy will organize free early diagnosis days with the aim of quickly recognizing any signs and thus referring patients to their doctor for the necessary checks. Are you okay? 1 symptom for 3 weeks is the motto of this year’s Italian edition which aims to raise awareness of the warning signs that many people don’t know or overlook.
Delayed diagnosis
We want to remind once again how prevention is a good practice to be cultivated every day, not just one week a year – underlines Lisa Licitra, director of Medical Oncology 3 Head and Neck Tumors, at the IRCCS Foundation Istituto Nazionale Tumori Milano and member of AIOCC -. Cervical-cephalic tumors are different forms of cancer that affect the nose, lips, tongue, inside of the mouth, salivary glands, larynx and pharynx. Basically any neoplasm that originates in the head or neck area, with the exception of the eyes, brain, ears and esophagus. They are often diagnosed late, at an advanced stage, when therapies must be more invasive and the chances of recovery are lower. Precisely because of the area of the body in which these tumors develop they are often easily visible, yet various investigations, including international ones, have shown that they are little known and the symptoms are underestimated. With serious consequences for the sick: if diagnosed early, the recovery rate is close to 80-90%, compared to an average life expectancy of around five years for those who discover the disease in an advanced stage.
Symptoms
What are the warnings not to be underestimated? Talk to your doctor if even just one of these symptoms is present for three weeks or more – recalls Roberto Maroldi, president of the Italian Association of Cervical-Cephalic Oncology -: pain in the tongue; ulcers that don’t heal or red or white spots in the mouth; throat pain; persistent hoarseness; pain or difficulty swallowing; neck swelling; stuffy nose on one side or nosebleeds. Although they are little known to the population and are not often talked about, head and neck tumors are the seventh most common type of cancer in Europe and in Italy there are approximately 9,900 new diagnoses every year. With pride and confidence, patient associations actively participate and strongly support the Make Sense Campaign both in Europe and in Italy, well aware that for patients with rare tumors, including head and neck tumors, the survival rate of 47% compared to 65% of those from common tumors, therefore with 18% more probability of dying – comments Francesco De Lorenzo, president of the Italian Federation of Voluntary Associations in Oncology (FAVO) and of the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC) -. Prevention represents the best, safest and most effective intervention that the NHS must necessarily ensure at the same time as the immediate activation of the National Rare Cancer Network, which is now possible due to the recent approval by the State-Regions Conference.
The therapies
The therapies The therapies available today are different, they also vary depending on the type of tumor, the area affected and the stage of the disease: surgery, radiotherapy and hadrontherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and biological drugs. Since these are tumors that affect the face and important and decisive organs for the quality of life, the aesthetic and psychological impact is not secondary and the rehabilitation is an essential fact – underlines Paolo Pisani, President of the Italian Association of Laryngectomees OdV (AILAR) and director of ‘Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery of the Civil Hospital of Asti. And discovering the disease in the beginning also means being able to “save” the body part from invasive interventions. For example, in laryngeal tumors, early diagnosis represents the fundamental factor in achieving objectives such as organ preservation and healing, with percentages that can reach and even exceed 90%. The various treatments can be used alone, in sequence or in combination with each other. They are needed for specialized multidisciplinary teams, capable of offering patients the experience and all the skills necessary to treat these tumors, and centers in which the various specialists for these tumors make decisions by comparing them with each other.
Cases on the rise: who risks the most?
Who is most at risk? These neoplasms more often affect men, affected with an incidence two to three times higher than women, and in people over 40 years of age, although cases in women and in people under 40 are increasing. – replies Maroldi, former director of Radiology 2 at the Spedali Civili of Brescia -. The main risk factors (in particular for cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx) are alcohol and tobacco, which cause approximately 75% of cases; People who use both run exponentially higher risks. Also not to be underestimated is the Papillomavirus (HPV), responsible for some types of cervical-cephalic tumors. In the last 30 years, for example, there has been a 300% increase in oropharyngeal (or mouth) cancers, especially of the tonsil, due to HPV infection.
More experts for better treatment
To access free visits, with open access or by reservation, the complete list of Italian centers participating in the initiative is available on the AIOCC website. AIOCC is an association founded on multidisciplinarity – concludes Maroldi -. through the integrated involvement of the various figures involved in the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck tumors it is possible to conduct the most appropriate therapies for the individual case. In this sense, the 2023 version of the Diagnostic Therapeutic Assistance Pathways (PDTA) in the context of neoplasms of the head and neck district, indicates as crucial points, the clarification of the timing and qualitative level of the essential information to decide on the type of treatment (diagnostic , pathological anatomy) to the rehabilitation and follow-up program. This is a logistical operation that goes beyond the horizon of the single clinical department and therefore it is necessary to entrust it to a functional structure (“Head and Neck Unit”) that has organizational and planning capabilities. An essential step to improve (and guarantee) the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of care.
September 14, 2023 (modified September 14, 2023 | 3:48 pm)
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