title: Oral Cancer Early Detection: What Do Patients Need To Know?
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to examine the educational needs of patients regarding early detection of oral cancer. A total of 790 patients without cancer were interviewed and shown a set of validated clinical images of various oral lesions including early oral cancer. Participants were asked about their perception of cancer and the action that they would take if they notice a similar lesion. Lower risk lesions (e.g., lumps) were more likely to be perceived as cancer (52.4%), while higher risk lesions (e.g., red patches) were least likely to be perceived as cancer (8.8%). The perceived appearance of the lesions was correlated with patients' perceived need for medical advice. Higher risk lesions were less likely to make patients feel the need to seek professional advice. High-risk patients were less aware about oral cancer appearance and were less likely to take action if they notice an oral lesion. Patients are not aware of the various presentations of early oral cancers, especially higher risk lesions. Patients need to know more about the clinical appearance of early oral cancer. The use of representative clinical images of early oral cancer and educational videos on self-inspection of oral mucosa is important.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, The University of Jordan, Po-Box: 11942, Amman, Jordan. yazan@ju.edu.jo.
authors.forename: Yazan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hassona
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, The University of Jordan, Po-Box: 11942, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sawair
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, The University of Jordan, Po-Box: 11942, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matarweh
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, The University of Jordan, Po-Box: 11942, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdalhamid
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Medicine and Periodontology, School of Dentistry, The University of Jordan, Po-Box: 11942, Amman, Jordan.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thweib
authors.affiliation: University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Scully
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016353:Self-Examination / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; Early detection; Oral; Patients’ beliefs; Potentially malignant; Screening