lip cancer

Etiology

• risk factors
  • tobaccoism
    • cigarettes, cigars, pipes & smokeless tobacco
  • alcoholism
  • papillomavirus
  • drugs with photosensitivity
    • nifedipine, hydrochlorothiazide

Epidemiology

• most common form of oral cancer
• more common in men than women

Pathology

• most commonly squamous cell carcinoma
• less commonly basal cell carcinoma
• main routes of lymph node drainage are into the first station nodes (buccinator, jugulodigastric, submandibular, & submental)
• sites close to the midline often drain bilaterally
• second station nodes include the parotid, jugular, & the upper & lower posterior cervical nodes

Laboratory

• tissue biopsy

Complications

• increased risk of second primary tumor of the respiratory tract or GI tract

Management

• early stage disease is highly treatable with:
  • surgical excision
  • radiation therapy if positive margins or depth > 5 mm in surgical excision
• stage 3 or 4
  • combination of surgery & radiation therapy
• isotretinoin for one year may reduce the incidence of a second primary tumor

More general terms

• oral cancer (oropharyngeal cancer)
• skin cancer
• lip neoplasm