You can recognize tongue cancer by these symptoms

Introduction

Tongue cancer is a treacherous cancer disease. The symptoms are often noticed late. In stages where tongue cancer causes problems, it often has a large extension and has already spread to surrounding organs. This makes it all the more important to react early to changes in the tongue that seem unusual. Certain signs point to tongue cancer and must be clarified quickly, as the disease progresses very quickly.

These are the typical symptoms of tongue cancer

The most common symptoms of tongue cancer are listed below. These are relatively unspecific, however, if you suspect that you have tongue cancer, you should consult a doctor for clarification. Difficulty swallowing Cloppy speech Bad breath Movement restriction of the tongue Noticeable changes in the tongue Salivation Earache Earache Foreign body sensation

  • Sore throat
  • Swallowing difficulties
  • Great language
  • Halitosis
  • Restriction of movement of the tongue
  • Noticeable changes in the tongue
  • Salivation
  • Earache
  • Foreign body sensation

Spots on the tongue can be an early indication of a malignant event.

However, injuries to the tongue, such as burns, can also lead to a temporary change in color and surface. Infections can also lead to changes in the tongue, but after the infection has subsided, the spots should also recede. However, if the stains have been present for a long time without any apparent reason, the cause should be clarified by a doctor.

If an ulcer develops on the back part of the tongue, the so-called tongue base carcinoma, sore throat can occur. This pain is caused by an irritation of the pain receptors located on the tongue. The sore throat is intensified by swallowing.

Due to the pain when swallowing, there is a reduced food intake to avoid the pain. A possible consequence is malnutrition, which has an additional negative influence on the course of the disease. But not only the swallowing of food or drinks is painful, also the swallowing of saliva causes pain.

Swallowing is a very complex process that requires the correct coordination of many muscles of the mouth and throat. Due to the ulcer that forms on the tongue, the correct process of swallowing is disturbed. One part of the process involves pressing the tongue against the palate, which is only possible to a limited extent in the case of a tongue ulcer.

Another important reason for the disturbance of the swallowing process is the mechanical obstacle caused by the tongue cancer. Put simply, the normal path taken by food is constricted by the ulcer. In advanced diseases, damage to the nerves, which are very important for coordination, also restricts the swallowing process.

Like the swallowing process, speech production is a very complex process that requires a variety of different movements of the oral cavity. As the name suggests, dumpy speech sounds as if the affected person has a lump in his mouth. Normal speech production is disturbed by the growth on the tongue.

When generating speech, the mouth, nose and throat must form a certain shape to produce the desired sound. This shape can no longer be produced by the cancer as usual, which is why speech sounds different. The technical term for bad breath is foetor ex ore, there are many different causes for an unpleasant smell of the exhaled air.

Very often the cause lies in the mouth or throat area. In the worst case the bad breath is caused by a cancerous ulcer in the mouth area. Other possible causes are poor dental hygiene or inflammation.

In the case of tongue cancer, the smell is caused by bacterial decomposition. In the case of tongue cancer, tissue of the tongue becomes necrotic, which means that the tissue dies off. The bacteria of the oral cavity then decompose the dead tissue.

In the metabolism of the bacteria, sulfur-containing compounds are formed, among other things, which are responsible for the unpleasant odor. Since the newly formed tissue of a cancerous ulcer usually grows in an uncoordinated manner and does not form a particularly stable construct, the ulcer is easily injured. To make matters worse, an important mechanism of cancer development involves the formation of new blood vessels.

This so-called neoangiogenesis leads to the fact that the tongue cancer is partially strongly supplied with blood.The combination of the tissue, which is very prone to injury per se, and excessive blood flow leads to increased bleeding. The lymph vessels and lymph nodes of the body perform a variety of tasks. They are very important for the defence against germs and they transport fluid and various substances from the tissue towards the bloodstream.

In malignant changes, in this case tongue cancer, cancer cells can detach from the tissue and migrate via the lymph vessels into lymph nodes. Since cancer cells can escape the body’s own control, they do not die there but multiply. As a result, the lymph nodes become larger and appear swollen.

In tongue cancer, the lymph nodes closest to the tongue are particularly at risk. These include the lymph nodes in the lower jaw, neck and throat and finally in the armpits. The lymph nodes are also enlarged in the course of a normal immune response in cases of inflammation in the mouth.

However, inflammatory lymph nodes tend to be painful, while malignant processes of the lymph node are rather painless. The tongue is an organ that has a very strong supply of nerves. This strong connection to the nervous system has several reasons.

The taste receptors take over the task of food control and are very important to detect inedible food in a fraction of a second. In addition, the tongue’s sense of touch is very pronounced, since on the one hand dangerous objects must be recognized and on the other hand it must always be determined in which position the tongue is in order to avoid injuries through the teeth. One can therefore guess that the sensitivity of the tongue to pain is also extremely high.

Most people are familiar with the strong pain that is caused by the smallest injuries of the tongue. With large tissue defects, such as tongue cancer, the pain receptors are strongly irritated. The increased salivation in tongue cancer has several causes.

Firstly, the irritation of the nerves leads to a reflex-like increase in saliva production. Saliva has important protective functions and is produced in increased quantities in response to harmful processes. Another reason for the increased salivation is the difficulty in swallowing, which occurs due to tongue cancer. The affected person avoids painful swallowing, which is why more saliva remains in the mouth.