Making the Diagnosis
Most oral cancers are diagnosed by examining the signs or symptoms, including lumps, ulcers, sores, and abnormal swellings. If your doctor thinks you may have oral cancer, they will examine you and may order more tests that could include X-rays, laboratory tests, ultrasounds, scans, or a biopsy. A biopsy is a small sample of tissue that's been removed so it can be looked at under the microscope.
These tests will help confirm a diagnosis of oral cancer and determine whether the cancer has spread. Oral cancer may spread to the lymph nodes in the neck. It can also spread to the bone, liver, and lungs, but this is not very common.
Since oral cancers can be painless and have no symptoms in the beginning, it's important to have regular oral checkups by your doctor or dentist to catch oral cancer early. When oral cancer is caught early, treatment is more successful.