How Oral Cancer Is Taught: A Scoping Review with an Innovative Educational Perspective

Early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMD) is well established as a critical factor in reducing morbidity and mortality, and in improving long-term survival and quality of life (Seoane et al., 2016). Despite this, challenges in the early diagnosis of OPMDs and OSCC continue to arise due to patient, professional, referral and scheduling delays (Gonzalez-Moles et al., 2022; Kaing et al., 2016). While there has been an improvement in patients seeking advice from primary health care professionals, the interval time for health professionals making a diagnosis has not significantly improved (Kaing et al., 2016; Seoane et al., 2016). With current data indicating that approximately 55% of patients with OSCC initially present to their medical general practitioner (GP) and 44% to their general dental practitioner (GDP), it is imperative that both medical and dental professionals demonstrate competency in identifying high-risk oral mucosal cases and referring them to an appropriate specialist on time (Gonzalez-Moles et al., 2022; Kaing et al., 2016). Globally, a significant proportion of diagnostic delays has been attributed to professional knowledge of oral cancer, with many studies around the world underscoring the importance of strengthening practitioner knowledge to improve early detection and diagnosis of oral cancer and overall patient care (Idrees et al., 2024; Ozdemir-Ozenen et al., 2022; Saadat et al., 2023; Saraswat et al., 2022). As such, this scoping review aims to examine the current modes of delivery of oral cancer education amongst health care practitioners and students. The review also seeks to identify challenges in teaching, gaps within existing educational approaches, including the utilisation of technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence.