Sufferers of tongue cancer offered hope by university ultrasound technique

A pioneering technique in identifying the gravity of tongue tumors discovered by Hong Kong University will improve treatment, speed diagnosis and raise survival rates.

Adapted by professor Anthony Yuen Po-wing, ultrasound sensors, traditionally used for scanning skin, have been used to determine the thickness of tongue cancer tumors, eliminating dangerous guesswork when surgeons determine how much or how little of the tumor to extract.

"Traditionally, we could only measure the diameter or length of a tumor, and you wouldn't know its thickness until you do a neck dissection," Yuen said. "It can be dangerous guesswork when excising the tumor without knowing the thickness, because if you take too much it will further reduce the patient's speaking and swallowing functions. If you take too little, the cancer will recur."

source: The Standard