Most oral cancers start in the cells that line the mouth (the mucosa; called squamous cell carcinomas, the same as the common types of skin cancer). Oral cancers can also start to grow in minor salivary glands, bone, blood vessels, nerves, and other structures. These cancers are rare and only make up less than 5% of oral cancers.
Doctors often can’t explain why a person gets cancer. But we do know what makes some cancers more likely.
smoking (cigarettes, cigars or pipes) or using ‘smokeless’ tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco) If a person smokes or has smoked in the past, they have a higher risk of getting oral cancer than someone who has never smoked.
drinking alcohol. If a person drinks a lot of alcohol over many years, they have a higher risk of getting oral cancer, especially combined with smoking.
Three out of four people with oral cancer have been a smoker or consumed alcohol regularly for a number of years.
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