Lip cancer
Prepared with OnCo (onco.cc/prep/lip-cancer/). Orientation, not medical advice; your team knows your case.
My details
What I know, what is unclear, changes to discuss
Saved in this browserMy questions
16 on the sheet- 1.What is my exact diagnosis, stage, and grade, and which tests established them?
- 2.Which biomarkers have been tested on my tumour (for example Tumour thickness and depth, Perineural invasion, Margin status, Immunosuppression, PD-L1), and what were the results?
- 3.Which subtype is my cancer, and does that change the recommended treatment?
- 4.Is germline (inherited) genetic testing recommended for me or my family?
- 5.For my situation (early disease), which of the standard options do you recommend and why?
- 6.For my situation (large, thick or node-positive disease), which of the standard options do you recommend and why?
- 7.Am I a candidate for Cisplatin, and what side effects should I expect?
- 8.For my situation (unresectable or metastatic), which of the standard options do you recommend and why?
- 9.Am I a candidate for Cemiplimab, Pembrolizumab, and what side effects should I expect?
- 10.How do the results of KEYNOTE-048 apply to someone like me?
- 11.For my situation (prevention), which of the standard options do you recommend and why?
- 12.Are there clinical trials I could join, for example of Cemiplimab?
- 13.Would a second opinion at a high-volume centre change anything, and can you help arrange it?
- 14.What supportive care (symptom control, nutrition, exercise, mental health, financial help) is available from the start?
- 15.I read that “Lip cancer in outdoor workers in sunny countries is under-recognised and under-protected”. How does that affect my plan?
- 16.I read that “Function and appearance after resection of more than half the lip”. How does that affect my plan?
The words I may hear
- Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT): Radiotherapy given at the same time as chemotherapy, which sensitises the cancer to radiation.
Tests and results to bring
Biomarker results to ask for: Tumour thickness and depth, Perineural invasion, Margin status, Immunosuppression (transplant recipients), PD-L1 (advanced disease).
Bring copies of scan reports, pathology and blood results, and a list of every medicine and supplement.
The treatments I may be offered
- Prevention: Sun protection of the lips, smoking cessation, and treatment of actinic cheilitis. (Smoking cessation in cancer patients)
- Early disease: Wedge or V excision with local flap reconstruction, or radiotherapy (external beam or brachytherapy) for commissure tumours or unfit patients. (IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam), Brachytherapy)
- Unresectable or metastatic: Cemiplimab as for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, or pembrolizumab-based treatment as for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. (Cemiplimab, Pembrolizumab, KEYNOTE-048)
- Large, thick or node-positive disease: Resection with flap reconstruction, sentinel node biopsy or neck dissection, and postoperative radiotherapy; cisplatin for extranodal extension or positive margins. (IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam), Sentinel lymph node biopsy, Cisplatin, Chemoradiation (chemoradiotherapy, CRT))
From the standard of care recorded for this cancer; which apply depends on your stage and biomarkers. Ask which the team recommends and why.