Geddes Quadrangle, a campus site of the University of Dundee. (Photo: Ydam/Wikimedia Commons)

2013-11-21 | News Europe

DUNDEE, UK: In September, the University of Dundee inaugurated its Master of Research in Oral Cancer programme, the world’s first postgraduate research degree to focus exclusively on oral cancer. Three dentists from India, and one oral and maxillofacial pathologist from Egypt have enrolled in the 12-month course.

Overall, the programme is aimed at giving the students the opportunity to focus on a discipline in which the demand for expertise in their home countries far exceeds the availability of qualified specialists.

Throughout the programme, the students will be working alongside internationally distinguished scientists and clinicians to develop a sound understanding of fundamental and applied cancer biology and aetiology, and the diagnosis and management of oral cancer. In addition, they will gain valuable experience in designing and executing a robust laboratory-focused molecular oncology research project, according to the university.

“This master’s degree has a substantial taught component in the first semester,” explained Dr Dorothy H. Crouch, senior lecturer at the University of Dundee’s School of Dentistry. “Then for the rest of the year, following a series of practical classes and a literature review, the focus is on research.”

According to the latest figures published by the British Dental Health Foundation, 7,698 new cases of mouth cancer were diagnosed in 2011 in the UK alone. The World Health Organization estimates that incidence rates for oral cancer in men vary from one to ten cases per 100,000 men in many countries. In south-central Asia, cancer of the oral cavity ranks among the three most common types of cancer. In India, the incidence rate of oral cancer is 12.6 per 100,000 people. Tobacco use, including smokeless tobacco, and excessive alcohol consumption are estimated to account for about 90 per cent of oral cancer cases. However, a number of recent studies have suggested that the increase in oral cancer in many parts of the world is due to the growing number of human papillomavirus infections.