Oral Cancer Treatment Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Rising prevalence of oral cancer: The increasing number of oral cancer incidences have inflated the demand in the oral cancer treatment market. According to an NLM report published in June 2022, 377,713 new and 177,757 death cases of oral cancer were registered worldwide in 2020. Lifestyle factors, particularly smoking, alcohol consumption, and poor diet in developing regions are growing the volume of potential cancer patients. The increasing number of patients is driving the surge for effective treatment and detection solutions. The industry is curating technological advancements to cope with inflating demand, creating opportunities for global leaders.
• Governmental support: Initiatives and funding issued by the governing bodies have greatly influenced the oral cancer treatment market. Many countries are encouraging development in health infrastructure, inflating the adoption of new treatment methods. Improvement in treatment facilities also ensures open access to cancer treatments, fostering an established supply-demand chain in this industry. The government authorities are also releasing projects to introduce innovative treatment methods in the market. For instance, in February 2024, ICMR funded a project based on the evaluation of non-invasive adjuncts in OPMDs to set up early detection and development in primary healthcare settings in India.

Challenges

• High treatment cost: Expensive treatment and therapeutics are some of the major setbacks of the oral cancer treatment market. The associated cost of advanced therapies such as immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and personalized medicine can be higher than other treatments. This may prohibit patients from low or middle-income regions from investing in this sector. This further limit access to treatment for a large segment of the population, restricting optimum adoption.
• Concern about side effects: Traditional treatment methods such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy come with significant side effects. Most of the undergoing patients experience pain, difficulty in eating and swallowing, dry mouth, and oral infections. This further hinders the quality of life for people suffering from cancer. Such drastic changes in normal lifestyles may prevent them from adopting long-term management. This further becomes a hurdle in the way of expansion in the oral cancer treatment market.