CDA Essentials 2017 • Volume 3 • Issue 4

23 Volume 3 Issue 4 | N ews and E vents THE FACES OF ORAL CANCER About 500,000 people worldwide are diagnosedwith oral cancer each year, including 4,400 Canadians. 1 While early detection is associated with a survival rate of more than 90%, 2 most cases are only diagnosed in advanced stages, bringing the overall Canadian 5-year survival rate down to 63%. 3 Sadly, 1,200 Canadians succumb to oral cancer annually. 1 To increase the odds of survival for oral cancer patients, a collection of clinicians, researchers, academics, survivors, not-for-profit organizations, and government and industry representatives from 33 countries met in New York City on March 4–5, 2016, for the inaugural Global Oral Cancer Forum (globaloralcancerforum.org) .