Each year, more than 30,000 new cases of cancer of the oral cavity and pharynx are diagnosed and over 8,000 deaths due to oral cancer occur. The 5-year survival rate for these cancers is only about 50 percent. Mortality from oral cancer is nearly twice as high in some minorities (especially black males) as it is in whites. Methods used to treat oral cancers (surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy) are disfiguring and costly. Preventing high risk behaviors, that include cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking, use of smokeless tobacco, and excessive use of alcohol are critical in preventing oral cancers. Early detection is key to increasing the survival rate for these cancers.

February 2002-Approximately 75 percent of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancers are attributed to the use of smoked and smokeless tobacco. (These cancers include the mouth, tongue, lips, throat, parts for the nose, and larynx.) Those who chew tobacco are at high risk for gum and cheek lesions that can lead to cancer. Alcohol consumption is another risk factor. Combinations of tobacco and alcohol are believed to represent substantially greater risk factors than either substance consumed alone. Other factors that can place a person at risk for these cancers are viral infections, immunodeficiencies, poor nutrition, exposure to ultraviolet light (a major cause of cancer to the lips), and certain occupational exposures.

Oral cancer accounts for two to four percent of all cancers diagnosed annually in the United States, but relative survival rates are among the lowest of major cancers. Only one-half the number of persons diagnosed with oral cancer are alive five years after the diagnosis. In contrast to other cancers (e.g. breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers) the overall U.S. survival rate from oral and pharyngeal cancer has not improved during the past 16 years. Survival rates for oral cancer in minorities have decreased.

Incidence of oral cancer varies greatly throughout the world. In western countries, such as the United States, England or Wales, oral cancer accounts for two to five percent of all cancers. These numbers are low compared with a 40 percent prevalence in Sri Lanka and 50 percent in India. Southeast Asian persons also have a high frequency of oral cancer.

Oral cancer today occurs twice as often in males as in females. This is considerably different from the 5:1 male to female ratio of forty years ago. Increased tobacco use among women is the main reason for the change in cancer rates compared with rates in the 1950s. Age is also a factor--95 percent of oral cancers occur among persons over the age of 40 and 60 being the average age at diagnosis.