Oral Cancer

When you hear about risk factors for cancer (Read about "Reduce Cancer Risks" "Cancer: What It Is") you usually hear that something doubles the risk or increases the risk by a certain percentage. But the numbers from the American Cancer Society (ACS) for oral cancer are staggering. Tobacco is not the only risk factor for oral cancer, and there are many people who develop oral cancer who did not use tobacco. Nonetheless, statistics show that ninety (90) percent of the people who get oral cancer have used tobacco, and smokers are 6 times more likely to develop oral cancer than non-smokers. Smokeless tobacco, also called snuff or chewing tobacco, multiplies the risk of certain oral cancers 50 times.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there are 30,000 new cases of oral cancer each year. And though men still get oral cancer twice as often as women, the gap has been closing for 40 years. In the 50's, men got oral cancer 5 times as often. CDC says it's the increase of tobacco use among women that is causing the shift.

Other risk factors

Tobacco is the greatest risk factor (Read about "Quit Smoking") for oral cancer but there are others, including these from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and ACS:

• Alcohol consumption is seen in 75 to 80 percent of oral cancer patients. Oral cancers are 6 times higher in drinkers than non-drinkers with an even higher risk for those who smoke and drink. (Read about "Alcoholism")
• Sun exposure is a risk for lip cancers. Thirty percent of people with lip cancer have outdoor jobs. (Read about "Skin Cancer")
• Vitamin A deficiency (Read about "Vitamins & Minerals")

Symptoms

Unlike some cancers, such as kidney, liver or pancreatic, (Read about "Kidney Cancer" "Liver Cancer" "Pancreatic Cancer") many oral cancers can be discovered early during routine exams by doctors or dentists. (Read about "Cancer Check-ups") People should also be aware of symptoms especially if they use tobacco.

CDC, ACS and NCI list the following as symptoms:

• mouth sores that do not heal or bleed easily (Read about "Oral Health")
• mouth pains
• lump, soreness or thickening of the mouth, cheek, throat or tongue
• a white or red patch anywhere inside the mouth that doesn't go away
• problems chewing or swallowing food
• swelling of the jaw
• loosening of the teeth
• voice changes (Read about "Vocal Problems")
• pain in the ear (Read about "Earache")
• lump in the neck

All of these symptoms could indicate other problems as well but should be checked by a doctor or a dentist as soon as possible. If caught early, treatment is easier, is more likely to be successfully and perhaps not as radical in nature.

Treatments

Once cancer of the lip and/or oral cavity is found, more tests will be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This is called staging. A doctor needs to know the stage of the disease to plan treatment. (Read about "Cancer Treatments") The following stages are used for cancer of the lip and oral cavity, according to NCI:

• Stage I

  The cancer is no more than 2 centimeters (about 1 inch) and has not spread to lymph nodes in the area (lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body; they produce and store infection-fighting cells). (Read about "The Lymph System")

• Stage II

  The cancer is more than 2 centimeters, but less than 4 centimeters (less than 2 inches), and has not spread to lymph nodes in the area.

• Stage III

  Either of the following may be true:

  • The cancer is more than 4 centimeters.
  • The cancer is any size but has spread to only one lymph node on the same side of the neck as the cancer. The lymph node that contains cancer measures no more than 3 centimeters (just over one inch).

• Stage IV

  Any of the following may be true:

  • The cancer has spread to tissues around the lip and oral cavity.
  • The lymph nodes in the area may or may not contain cancer.
  • The cancer is any size and has spread to more than one lymph node on the same side of the neck as the cancer, to lymph nodes on one or both sides of the neck, or to any lymph node that measures more than 6 centimeters (over 2 inches).
  • The cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are the main treatments. Surgery to remove the tumor in the mouth or throat is a common treatment for oral cancer. Sometimes the surgeon also removes lymph nodes in the neck. Other tissues in the mouth and neck may be removed as well. Patients may have surgery alone or in combination with radiation therapy. Some oral cancers require radical surgery that removes part of the facial bone structure, while others leave major scars. Other surgeries remove parts of the jaw or tongue, affecting speech, while still others cause the removal of the voice box.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy may also be used. Radiation can be used alone for small tumors or for patients who cannot have surgery. (Read about "Radiation Therapy") It may be used before surgery to kill cancer cells and shrink the tumor. It also may be used after surgery to destroy cancer cells that may remain in the area. (Read about "Cancer Treatments")

More Cancer Information:

    Cancer Check-ups

    Cancer Support

    Cancer Treatments

    Reduce Cancer Risks

    Cancer Glossary

For a list of individual types of cancer, see Cancer: What It Is

Related Information:

    Sunscreen

    Digestive System