Risk Factors

Tobacco and excessive alcohol use increase the risk of oral cancer. Using both tobacco and alcohol poses a much greater risk than using either substance alone.

Exposure to sunlight is a risk factor for lip cancer

Oral cancer is typically a disease of older people usually because of their longer exposure to risk factors. Incidence of oral cancer rises steadily with age, reaching a peak in persons age 64-74. For African Americans, incidence peaks about 10 years earlier.

Oral cancer strikes men twice as often as it does women.

Oral cancer occurs more frequently in African Americans than in whites.