This 1947 film outlines the responsibility of physicians and dentists in early recognition of oral cancer. Interestingly, it does not probe the causes of oral cancer, such as cigarette smoking, as at the time it was produced a causal link had yet to be firmly established. The film was sponsored by the American Cancer Society (:22) and produced by Audio Productions Inc (:36). The film opens with a 48-year-old patient whom has a white lesion on his tongue which proved to be a papillary tumor (:57). During his routine dental check, the lesion aroused suspicion (1:24) and a pathological examination confirmed this suspicion (1:29). Since it was found early enough, the patient’s cure rate was high and this points to the necessity of early recognition of oral cancer (1:53). It is the responsibility of dentists as well as physicians to recognize the lesions (2:05). The film then presents the six common sites of oral cancer which include the gingiva, palate, tongue, cheek, floor of the mouth and the lips (2:09). Despite the fact that these locations are all susceptible to early diagnosis, the majority of the lesions are not recognized early enough for satisfactory treatment (2:38). The five-year cure percentage rates of any size lesion found in these locations follow (2:50) and the overall percentage rate is 32 ½% (3:17). The five-year cure rate percentages of lesions in these areas that are less than 2cm are then provided (3:32) with the overall percentage rate being 57% (4:04). A run through of a thorough examination on a patient follows (5:12) and the instruments required for this exam are shown (5:35). Dentists and physicians were to combine observation methods with inspection and palpation (5:57). As most human heads are symmetrical it helps to look for any off symmetry (6:08). The physician begins with the mans lips, then moves into the oral cavity (6:29). The borders of the tongue adjacent to the back molars is the most common site of cancer on the tongue (7:05). Palpation near a cancer site will generally produce bleeding (7:48). The nasopharynx is then looked at (7:59) and a deep palpation is saved for the final step (9:27). The neck is examined as an early sign of oral cancer is often a lump in the neck (9:50). The major groups of lymph nodes are then pointed to including the submental group (10:37) and the submaxillary group (10:52). The internal jugular chain, following the course of the jugular vein is shown (11:46). The physician then conducts a thorough palpation of all of the groups of nodes (13:07). After ten minutes of this, the patient is declared cancer free (14:34). A series of cases are provided beginning with a case of gingiva cancer (15:29). The patient had an impacted molar and a lump under his tongue and the physician believed he had syphilis (15:47). This patient is returned to later. A 54-year-old patient is shown whom had a growth in his left posterior gum (16:01). The dentists suspected cancer and a biopsy proved it to be epidermal carcinoma of gingiva (16:29). For cancer of the palate (16:36), a 57-year-old physician is shown who noticed a swelling in his palate which deteriorated into an ulcer with a necrotic face (16:59). The lesion was identified as cancer after a histological examination (17:27). A 57-year-old patient had leukoplakia in his cheeks for a number of years (17:38) though one side proved to have a papillary tumor (18:14) and a biopsy confirmed a cancer diagnosis (18:54). A pack a day smoker is shown for a demonstration of diagnosis of tongue cancer (19:00). The dentist noticed a granular change in the mucosa of the tongue and a histological examination proved a cancer diagnosis (19:50). A 48-year-old patient noticed a lump on his lip in the location where he held the tip of his pipe for smoking (20:17) and a biopsy confirmed it to be cancerous (20:48). The 54-year-old patient seen earlier is seen again (21:01) after surgery. The source of the man’s primary cancer is discovered (21:52). Unfortunately, the surgery he had received had in fact inhibited the man from receiving proper and speedy treatment due to delay and scarring of the tissue (21:52). The man whom had a lump under his tongue, is shown again and it proved also to be cancerous (22:38) as cancer is in fact more common than syphilis or tuberculosis in the tongue (22:58). The proper procedures for a thorough examination is gone over again (23:23). The film concludes at (24:44). Produced for Cancer Allied Diseases in New York, NY.

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