Tongue Cancer

Dentists are often the first to detect tongue cancer during routine exams or oral cancer screenings. Or your primary care physician (PCP) may notice signs during an exam for another condition.

To gather more information, your provider may:

• Shine a fluorescent light into your mouth to see if it reveals any abnormal tissue.
• Use an endoscope (a thin, flexible tube with a camera and light) to look at your mouth and throat.
• Check for swollen lymph nodes.

If a healthcare provider sees visual signs of tongue cancer, they’ll recommend a biopsy. During this procedure, they’ll take a small sample of affected tissue. They’ll send it to a lab, where a pathologist will examine the tissue and look for cancer cells.

Your provider may also order imaging tests like:

• CT (computed tomography) scans.
• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans.
• PET (positron emission tomography) scans.