Oral Cancer Knowledge in Medical and Pharmacy Students: Are we on the right track?

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Oral Pathology Department, Faculty of Dentistry, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

2 Public Health and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt

Abstract

Introduction: Annually, there is increasing number of oral cancer cases that have been misdiagnosed or overlooked which negatively impact the patient’s outcome. Several factors contribute to such phenomenon, of which lack of oral cancer awareness among health care providers is the most important. Objective: This study aimed to assess level of oral cancer knowledge among medical and pharmacy students since they represent an integral part of the oral health care system in Egypt. Also, to determine the need of planning future intervention programs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed via delivering anonymous questionnaires to the students. The questionnaire was designed to gather demographic data and basic knowledge regarding incidence of oral cancer, most known clinical features, importance of oral mucosal screening, prior oral cancer education and motivation toward learning more about oral cancer. Results: The most widely known cancer (87.7%) was breast cancer (n = 243) whereas oral cancer was reported by only 9.7% of participants (n = 27). Medical students were generally more knowledgeable than pharmacy students with significant differences (p < 0.05) observed in identifying some risk factors as well as tongue and leukoplakia as preferred site and early sign respectively. Conclusions: The role of medical and pharmacy students as future contributors to public health message should be emphasized via designing educational curricula that better teach students about burden, risk factors, early signs, and screening modalities of oral cancer.

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Advanced Dental Journal
Volume 6, Issue 2
April 2024
Pages 262-270

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