VANCOUVER -- If it's caught early, oral cancer has an 80% survival rate. But too often it's detected late and patients end up losing part of their tongue, jaw, or their lives. Now scientists at the BC Cancer Agency have developed a simple hand-held device that may help dentists spot the cancer before it has a chance to develop.
Dr. Michelle Williams, Dentist at the BC Cancer Agency, says that in an examination, we are looking at virtually all the oral soft tissues.
It may seem odd that Lena Pawlowich is wearing sunglasses during her dental exam. But they're there for a reason.
Dr. Williams explains the light she will use to see inside the mouth.
Lena, who has had three previous operations to remove pre-cancerous lesions in her mouth, is being screened for abnormalities using a Velscope, developed by the BC Cancer Agency.
Dr. Williams says, "Using a blue light, I am able to illuminate all tissues that I saw originally with white light."
By comparing the two exams, dentists can identify areas that need to be biopsied.
Dr. Williams say, "if there is an abnormality as you see on the side of a tongue, the tissue will lose its ability to fluoresce the same way, so rather than looking green as it did before, it appears as a shadow."
Right now, 30-40% of BC Oral Cancers are diagnosed in the late stages. Scientists are hoping this velscope will help detect malignancies alot earlier, perhaps even before they develop into cancer.
Dr. Miriam Rosin Sr., Scientist, says, "you really down the road want to catch, maybe 10 years before the cancers develop that's going to save alot of agony for patients going through the process of the treatment. It also means we prevent the deaths that are due to this disease."
Dr. Rosin is working with pathologists and other medical experts to help set up an oral cancer screening program in BC, much like the Pap screening program for cervical cancer. As a front-line device, the Velscope uses the same optical technology that's been successful in detecting precancerous changes in the lung and cervix.
Dr. Calum MacCauley Sr., Scientist at the BC Cancer Agency, says, "alot of these lesions are invisible to the human eye so without contrasting agent, you can't seem them, so this makes the invisible visible.
And that's great for patients like Lena.
Lena Pawlowich, Oral Cancer Patient, says,"That's why I was quite amazed they told me they were going to a biopsy, because something didn't seem right and they were right."
Tuesday November 15, 2005
