What Are The Risk Factors For Tongue Cancer?
Oral cancer develops in any part of the mouth (oral cavity). Oral cancer can occur on:
Lips, Gums, Tongue Inner, the lining of the cheeks, Roof of the mouth, and Floor of the mouth (under the tongue) can cancer attacks inside the mouth is sometimes called oral or oral cavity cancer. Oral Cancer is one of several types of cancer that get in group known as head and neck cancer. Oral Cancer and other head and neck cancers are usually treated similarly.
Tongue cancer forms when cells on the lips or in the mouth develop mutations in their DNA. A DNA cell contains instructions that tell the cell what to do. The mutations transform for cells to continue to grow and divide as healthy cells die. Abnormal oral cancer cells that reserve can form a tumor. Over time, they can spread to the inside of the mouth and other areas of the head and neck or other body parts.
The most common tongue cancer starts in the flat, squamous cells that line your lips and inside your mouth. Most tongue cancers are squamous cell carcinomas.
It is unclear what causes mutations in squamous cells that lead to oral cancer. But doctors have identified risk factors that can increase tongue cancer.
Risk Factors For Tongue Cancer
1. Gender
Tongue cancer affects more men than women. According to statistics, they are twice as likely to suffer from it.
According to the American Cancer Society, this could be because men have higher rates of alcohol and tobacco use and fewer dental visits.
Although in recent years, the overall rate of new cases of this disease has remained stable among men and has decreased slightly among women, there emerged an upsurge in cases of oropharyngeal Cancer associated with infections caused by humans papillomavirus (HPV) among white men and women.
2. The Age
The average age of diagnosis is 62 years, but it could drop to 52-56 due to the rise in cases associated with HPV.
Although we must take into account that the risk of oral cancer increases greatly after 44 years of age.
3. Tobacco
Tobacco use increases the risk of contracting these types of oral cancer dramatically. We know that smoking can cause cancer in the lungs and other body parts, but also by mouth.
In addition, the different forms of tobacco consumption also affect the risk of suffering from it in one area or another. Thus, pipe smokers have a greater risk of suffering from it on the lips; while those who chew tobacco develop it at a higher rate on the cheeks or gums.
4. Alcohol
According to data given by the American Cancer Society, 7 out of 10 tongue and mouth cancer patients are heavy drinkers. The measure that establishes what is considered drinking too much is two drinks a day or more in men and an average of more than one drink a day for women.
Of course, if you drink and smoke, your risk of contracting mouth cancer which also increases tongue cancer exponentially.
5. The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
This sexually transmitted disease is now associated with 10,000 cases of oropharyngeal Cancer diagnosed yearly in the United States. These data are causing the average age of people contracting tongue cancer to fall.
People who are diagnosed with HPV-associated oral cancer tend to be younger and non-smokers. Although this type is often diagnosed later because it develops in hard-to-detect areas, people with HPV-positive cancers have a lower risk of death or recurrence.
6. Sun Exposure
There are higher rates of lip cancer among people who spend many hours a day in the sun due to lifestyle habits or professions in which they have to work outdoors.
7. The Diet
It has been determined in several studies carried out by the American Dental Association that a diet low in fruits and vegetables is related to a raised risk of oral and oropharyngeal Cancer.
