The early diagnosis of carcinoma of the mouth.

A survey of all known cases of carcinoma of the mouth in a population of half a million shows that late diagnosis in the majority of cases is inevitable. With this neoplasm symptoms are minimal during the early stages and there is no correlation between the duration of symptoms and the stage of the tumour when first diagnosed. There was no evidence of undue delay by the patient or the medical (or dental) practitioner or by the hospital. Consequently an improvement in results in this disease can only be achieved by more effective treatment of the advanced lesion.