Oral Cavity Cancer

What Is It?

Oral-cavity cancer occurs when cells divide abnormally in the lip or mouth. The oral cavity includes the gums, lips, inside of the cheeks, teeth, roof and floor of the mouth, the underside of the tongue and the front two-thirds of the tongue.

Oral-cavity cancer occurs more often in men than in women. An estimated 27,000 new cases of oral-cavity cancer will be diagnosed in 2003 in the United States, and less than 10,000 of them will be in women. The incidence rate has been slowly decreasing over the past two decades. Oral-cavity cancer is strongly associated with smoking or chewing tobacco. About 90 percent of people with oral-cavity cancers use tobacco. The risk increases with the amount and duration of tobacco use. Alcohol use and exposure to sunlight also increase the risk of oral-cavity cancer.

People with oral-cavity cancer have an increased risk for developing cancer of the throat, esophagus or lung. Fifteen percent of people diagnosed with oral-cavity cancer are diagnosed at the same time with cancer of the larynx, esophagus or lung. Between 10 percent and 40 percent of people with oral-cavity cancer will later develop one of these cancers or a new oral-cavity cancer.

Symptoms

According to the American Cancer Society, the most common symptom of oral-cavity cancer is a mouth sore that doesn't heal. Other common symptoms of oral-cavity cancer, as described by the American Cancer Society, include:

• A lump or mass in your neck
• A persistent feeling that something is caught in your throat
• A persistent discoloration in your mouth
• A persistent lump or thickening in your cheek
• A persistent sore throat
• Changes to your voice
• Difficulty chewing or swallowing
• Difficulty moving your jaw or tongue
• Loosening of your teeth
• Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth
• Pain around the teeth or jaw
• Pain or irritation in the mouth that doesn't go away
• Sudden unexplained weight loss
• Swelling in your jaw — this may cause dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable

Most of the symptoms of oral-cavity cancers can be caused by other, less serious disorders. But if any symptoms persist for two weeks or longer, they deserve immediate attention.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis starts with a physical exam. Whether you have symptoms or not, a routine visit to a doctor or dentist should include an oral exam to look for abnormalities. Your doctor may feel for any lumps or masses. If your doctor suspects anything abnormal, he or she will do further examinations.