The 58-year-old male patient, residing in Hai Phong, discovered an ulcer on his tongue about 0.5 cm in size nearly a year ago. According to his family, the patient had been examined at a local medical facility, had a biopsy showing benign results and treated according to the prescription. However, the ulcer was not continuous but increasingly painful, spreading, causing difficulties in eating and communication. When the symptoms clearly affected daily activities, the patient decided to go to Hanoi for in-depth examination.
At the Oncology Department, Thanh Nhan Hospital, through clinical examination, doctors recorded that the patient had many signs of suspected malignancy and indicated re-surgery. The results determined that the patient had squamous cell carcinoma – the most common type of cancer in oral cavity cancer. Phase assessment tests, including ultrasound and MRI scans, did not record signs of neural lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis.
Notably, during the surgery, the team dragged the cervical lymph node, taking a total of 36 lymph nodes. The surgical results showed that 01 lymph node had cancer cell metastasis, although before surgery, diagnostic imaging instruments had not recorded suspected lymph nodes.
Sharing about the treatment process, the patient's family said: "The family did not think a small ulcer could be cancer. Fortunately, we decided to take the family for a timely re-examination and get treatment early.
According to MSc.BS Mai Van Chinh, Department of Oncology, Thanh Nhan Hospital - the doctor directly treating the patient: "Lunar lymphoma has the characteristic of easily metastasizing the cervical lymph node early. Many cases are microscopic metastasis, so it cannot be detected on ultrasound or MRI. Therefore, cervical lymph node removal surgery, even when no suspicious lymph nodes are seen on imaging, plays an important role in improving treatment effectiveness and improving patient survival.
The surgery was performed to ensure the negative amputation area, while maximizing the function of the tongue. After surgery, the patient recovered well, was discharged from the hospital after about a week, could eat and communicate almost normally, and soon returned to daily life.
Dr. Mai Van Chinh emphasized that tongue cancer can be completely effectively treated if detected early. Delaying examination due to subjective psychology is the reason why many cases come to the hospital when the disease has progressed.
Doctors recommend that people should not be subjective about lesions such as ulcers, bruising, white patches or red patches on the tongue and oral mucosa, especially if they last for more than 2 weeks. Even if a biopsy has yielded a benign result, if the lesion does not heal or shows signs of progress, patients need to have an early re-examination to be re-evaluated.
