Awareness of Oral Cancer in Undergraduate Medical and Dental Students

Cancer is the most common cause of death in economically developed countries and the second most lethal entity in developing countries. Oral cancer is a serious health issue that has a universal occurrence.The aim of this study was to determine the awareness level of undergraduate medical and dental students regarding oral cancer by assessing their knowledge of etiology, risk factors and signs of oral cancer. A self-administered questionnaire comprising of 12 questions was distributed amongst a random sample of 50 students each from Khyber Medical College and Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar. The study was conducted during December 2011 academic year. The data was compiled and analyzed using SPSS version 17. Our study showed that dental students were more likely to identify tobacco and alcohol use as the main risk factors for oral cancer. When asked about the signs of oral cancer, a greater number of medical students than dental students were able to name leukoplakia and erythroplakia. With regards to treatment modalities of oral cancer, 96% of the dental students while 56% of medical students listed surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The present study shows better knowledge and awareness of oral cancer amongst final year BDS students as compared to final year MBBS students.A poor level of awareness in the next generation of general medical practitioners thus highlights the need for improving the education of undergraduate medical and dental students regarding oral cancer.