ViziLite® Plus with TBlue® in Soft Tissue Management® In Early Detection of Oral Cancer Soft Tissue Management® includes the early detection of premalignant and malignant lesions in the oral cavity.

The most common type of head and neck cancer is oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cancer of the head and neck area is the sixth most common neoplastic disease in the developed world, representing one of the most serious health problems in this part of the body based on annual morbidity and mortality rates.²

Cancer, which is a major cause of morbidity and disability, is second only to heart disease as the leading cause of death among Americans.³ In the U.S., oral cancer accounts for nearly three percent of all cancers and approximately two percent of all cancer-related deaths.³ Additionally, it is estimated that oral cancer will kill 20 people per day in the U.S.⁴

What is disturbing is that the average five-year survival rate of oral cancer has not changed significantly in the last few decades because oral cancer is typically not diagnosed until it is in later stages.³ Only 34 percent of oral cancers are localized at the time of diagnosis, and just one third of patients diagnosed with malignancies have undergone a visual oral cancer screening exam within the past three years, suggesting that the current oral cancer screening protocol needs to be improved.³