Blog

By Harbor View Medical Services, PC

Oral cancer is the largest group of those cancers which fall into the head and neck cancer category. Common names for it include such things as mouth cancer, tongue cancer, tonsil cancer, and throat cancer. Approximately 49,750 people in the US will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer in 2017. This includes those cancers that occur in the mouth itself, in the very back of the mouth known as the oropharynx, and on the exterior lip of the mouth. For more than a decade there has been an increase in the rate of occurrence of oral and oropharyngeal cancers.

Mouth cancer refers to cancer that develops in any of the parts that make up the mouth. Mouth cancer can occur on the:

• Lips
• Gums
• Tongue
• Inner lining of the cheeks
• Roof of the mouth
• Floor of the mouth

Cancer that occurs on the inside of the mouth is sometimes called oral cancer or oral cavity cancer. Mouth cancer is one of several types of cancer grouped in a category called head and neck cancers. Mouth cancer and other head and neck cancers are often treated similarly.

There are two distinct pathways by which most people come to oral cancer. One is through the use of tobacco and alcohol, a long term historic problem and cause, and the other is through exposure to the HPV-16 virus (human papilloma virus version 16), a newly identified etiology, and the same one which is responsible for the vast majority of cervical cancers in women. A small percentage of people (under 7 %) do get oral cancers from no currently identified cause. It is currently believed that these are likely related to some genetic predisposition.

Signs and symptoms of mouth cancer may include:

• A sore that doesn't heal on lip or inside the mouth
• A sore that bleeds on lip or inside the mouth
• A growth, lump or thickening of the skin or lining of your mouth
• Loose teeth
• Poorly fitting dentures
• Tongue pain
• Jaw pain or stiffness
• Difficult or painful chewing
• Difficult or painful swallowing
• Sore throat

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor or dentist if you have any persistent signs and symptoms that bother you and last more than two weeks. Your doctor will likely investigate other more common causes for your signs and symptoms first, such as an infection.