Oral cancer represents the sixth most common malignancy in the world. There are a lot of oral cancers depending on the histology: minor salivary gland cancers, odontogenic tumors, sarcomas, lymphomas, and melanomas represent 10% of oral cancers (Kumar et al., 2016). Squamous cell carcinoma alone represents 90% of all the malignancies in the oral cavity (Chaturvedi et al., 2013). The mouth also has an important aesthetic and communicative function that may be affected in case of big tumors and important surgical removal. It is often needed to operate and reconstruct to restore the anatomy and the function of the tissues affected (Wong and Wiesenfeld, 2018).
Data from the AIOM/AIRTUM Report “I numeri del cancro in Italia 2019” [1] indicate that around 9,400 new cases of head-neck cancer (lips, oral cavity, pharynx) are expected in 2019, 7.200 among men and 2.200 among women: they represent approximately 3% and 1% of all incident cancers respectively.
The incidence of health expenditure on the Italian economy is relevant in this context; at first glance, in absolute terms, it has been growing steadily in recent years, 2019 health expenditure of 118.560 billion is expected, equal to 6.6% of the gross domestic product (Nota di aggiornamento del Documento di Economia e Finanza 2019) [2]. Healthcare spending has grown less than inflation, but the cuts have been justified by the need to maintain a balanced budget and eliminate waste and inefficiencies (Report GIMBE Observatory n. 7/2019).