Laser-Assisted
Periodontal Therapy

Oral Cancer Cases to Increase 11% This Year

In a statement issued this past February, Zila, Inc, noted with dismay that while the American Cancer Society (ACS) celebrated new data with the headline "Cancer Deaths Down for Second Year," the same data showed a marked increase in the number of expected new cases and deaths due to oral cancer.

"The ACS data, published in Cancer Facts & Figures 2007, projects 34,460 new cases of oral cavity and pharynx cancer-a remarkable 11% increase over the 30,990 cases that the ACS projected for 2006, and a 20% increase among males," noted Frank Bellizzi, president of Zila Pharmaceuticals, marketer of ViziLite Plus with Tblue for the early detection of oral abnormalities that could lead to cancer.

Dr. Bellizzi said dentists across America are moving rapidly to adopt the 3-minute, noninvasive, painless ViziLite Plus technology to improve their chances of detecting potentially deadly abnormal tissue at a very early, highly treatable stage.

According to ACS reports, the 5-year survival rate when oral cancer is detected early is 81.3%, but late detection results in a survival rate of only 26%.

Nearly as many women will be diagnosed with oral cancer as with cervical cancer this year, and the ACS projects that total deaths due to oral cancer will rise nearly 2%, to 7,550 in 2007 from 7,430 in 2006.

DENTISTY TODAY , April 2007.