What is oral cancer

Let's get started. Request an appointment online. Jump To:. Get details about our clinical trials that are currently enrolling patients. View Clinical Trials. Oral Cancer Risk Factors Anything that increases your chances of getting cancer is called a risk factor.

The main risk factors for oral cancer are: Tobacco use: Many people diagnosed with oral cancer use tobacco in some form. Other risk factors include: Gender: About two thirds of people diagnosed with oral cancer are men. Age: These cancers are found most often in people over Some ways to minimize your risk of developing oral cancer include: Avoid tobacco in all forms.

Visit a dentist at least once a year for a complete oral examination. Drink alcohol only in moderation. If you have dentures, remove them at night and clean them daily. Have them evaluated by a dentist at least every five years. Limit sun exposure; wear a lip balm with sunscreen and a hat with a brim.

Eat a well-rounded, healthy diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Learn more about oral cancer: Oral cancer symptoms Oral cancer diagnosis Oral cancer treatment. MD Anderson is 1 in Cancer Care. Find out what makes us different.

Why choose MD Anderson for your oral cancer treatment? Treatment at MD Anderson. Oral cancer is treated in our Head and Neck Center. Benign tumors non-cancerous and tumor-like conditions may develop in the oral cavity and oropharynx. Because these conditions may develop into cancer, benign tumors are often surgically removed as a form of cancer prevention.

Types of benign lesions include:. Early symptoms of oral cancer and oropharyngeal cancer may be mistaken for other problems, such as a toothache or cold. Some of the most common symptoms of oral and oropharyngeal cancers include:. Many oral cancers are found by oral health care professionals during routine dental checkups.

Paying attention to changes in the oral cavity is critical for early detection, especially for people who regularly smoke tobacco and drink alcohol. Along with a clinical exam of the mouth, other tools used to diagnose oral or oropharyngeal cancer may include:.

Learn about diagnostic procedures for oral cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for lip cancer, the most common form of oral cancer, ranges from 28 percent for cancer that has spread to distant parts of the body to 92 percent for cancer that has not spread beyond the lips.

The survival rates for other forms of oral and oropharyngeal cancer vary, depending on the part of the mouth impacted. Treatment options for oral cancer and oropharyngeal cancer may include:. Oral cancer accounts for roughly three percent of all cancers diagnosed annually in the United States, or about 53, new cases each year. Oral cancer most often occurs in people over the age of 40 and affects more than twice as many men as women.

Most oral cancers are related to tobacco use, alcohol use or both , or infection by the human papilloma virus HPV. Tobacco and alcohol use. Tobacco use of any kind, including cigarette smoking, puts you at risk for developing oral cancers. Heavy alcohol use also increases the risk. Using both tobacco and alcohol increases the risk even further. Infection with the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus specifically the HPV 16 type has been linked to oral cancers.

Risk increases with age. Oral cancers most often occur in people over the age of Because oral cancer can spread quickly, early detection is important. The mouth also helps us to: speak breathe drink change our facial expressions kiss. Home Cancer information Cancer types Oral What is oral cancer. What is oral cancer? Diagram of the head and neck. Diagram of the mouth. References Cancer of the Head and Neck. Devita, V. Cancer of the oral cavity.

Human Anatomy. San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings; Cancerous tumours of the mouth. Malignant tumours of the oral cavity are cancerous growths that have the potential to spread metastasize to other parts of the body. The oral cavity is lined with squamous epithelium, which is formed by flat, scale-like cells called squamous cells. The most common oral cavity cancer starts in these cells.