What happens if you get mouth cancer

The flat cells that cover the surfaces of your mouth, tongue, and lips are called squamous cells. The majority of mouth cancers begin in these cells.

A patch on your tongue, gums, tonsils, or the lining of your mouth can signal trouble. A white or red patch inside your mouth or on your lips may be a potential sign of squamous cell carcinoma. There is a wide range in how oral cancer may look and feel. The skin may feel thicker or nodular, or there may be a persistent ulcer or erosion.

What is important to note is the persistent nature of these abnormalities. Noncancerous lesions tend to resolve in a few weeks. If red and white patches last more than two weeks, you should see your dentist. You may see these mouth abnormalities before you feel them. In the early stages, mouth cancer may cause no pain. Bright red patches in your mouth that look and feel velvety are called erythroplakia. They are often precancerous. If you have erythroplakia, your dentist will take a biopsy of these cells.

A white or grayish patch inside your mouth or on your lips is called leukoplakia , or keratosis. An irritant like a rough tooth, broken denture, or tobacco can cause cell overgrowth and produce these patches. The habit of chewing the inside of your cheek or lips can also lead to leukoplakia. Exposure to carcinogenic substances can also cause these patches to develop.

These patches signal that the tissue is abnormal and can become malignant. Read more about treating mouth cancer. Both surgery and radiotherapy can make speaking and swallowing difficult dysphagia. Dysphagia can be a potentially serious problem. If small pieces of food enter your airways and become lodged in your lungs, it could trigger a chest infection, known as aspiration pneumonia.

Read more about the complications of mouth cancer. The three most effective ways to prevent mouth cancer from developing — or prevent it reocurring after successful treatment — are:. It's also important that you have regular dental check-ups because dentists can often spot the early stages of mouth cancer. If mouth cancer is diagnosed early, a complete cure is often possible using a combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery.

The outlook for mouth cancer can vary depending on which part of the mouth is affected and whether it has spread from the mouth into surrounding tissue. The outlook is much better if the cancer is diagnosed early. However, the outlook is better for cancer affecting certain areas of the mouth, such as the lip, tongue or oral cavity.

Mouth cancer can develop on most parts of the mouth, including the lips, gums and occasionally, the throat. Many of the symptoms listed above can be caused by less serious conditions, such as minor infections. But it's strongly recommended that you visit your GP if any of the symptoms listed above have lasted for more than three weeks.

It's especially important to seek medical advice if you're a heavy drinker or smoker. Mouth cancer tends not to cause any noticeable symptoms during the initial stages of the disease. This is why it is important to have regular dental check-ups, particularly if you are a smoker, a heavy drinker or a betel chewer, because a dentist may often be able to detect the condition during an examination.

You should have a dental check-up at least every year. However, more frequent check-ups may be recommended if you have a history of tooth decay or gum disease. Both alcohol and tobacco are carcinogenic, which means they contain chemicals that can damage the DNA in cells and lead to cancer. The risk of mouth cancer increases significantly in somebody who is both a heavy smoker and heavy drinker. Exactly what triggers the changes in DNA that lead to mouth cancer and why only a small number of people develop mouth cancer is still uncertain.

Smokeless tobacco products are not harmless and may increase your risk of developing mouth cancer, as well as other cancers, such as liver cancer, pancreatic cancer and oesophageal cancer. Betel nuts are mildly addictive seeds taken from the betel palm tree, and are widely used in many southeast Asian ethnic communities, such as people of Indian and Sri Lankan origin.

They have a stimulant effect similar to coffee. Betel nuts also have a carcinogenic effect, which can increase the risk of mouth cancer. This risk is made worse as many people enjoy chewing betel nuts along with tobacco.

Due to the tradition of using betel nuts, rates of mouth cancer are much higher in ethnic Indian and Sri Lankan communities than in the population at large. A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables is thought to reduce your risk of developing mouth cancer.

The human papilloma virus HPV is a family of viruses that affect the skin and moist membranes that line your body, such as those in your cervix, anus, mouth and throat. You can contract an HPV infection by having sexual contact with a person already infected — you do not have to have 'full sex'; just close skin-to-skin contact. There is evidence that in rare cases, certain types of HPV can cause abnormal tissue growth inside the mouth, triggering mouth cancer.

There is evidence that poor oral hygiene, such as having tooth decay , gum disease , not brushing your teeth regularly and having ill-fitted dentures false teeth can increase your risk of mouth cancer. If you have symptoms of mouth cancer, your GP will carry out a physical examination and ask about your symptoms. If mouth cancer is suspected, you will be referred to hospital for further tests or to speak to a specialist head and neck surgeon.

To find out if you should be referred for further tests for suspected mouth cancer, read the NICE guidelines on Suspected Cancer: Recognition and Referral. It may be necessary to remove a small sample of affected tissue to check for the presence of cancerous cells.

This procedure is known as a biopsy. A punch biopsy may be used if the suspected affected area of tissue is in an easily accessible place, such as your tongue or the inside of your mouth. The area is first injected with a local anaesthetic to numb it. The doctor will then cut away a small section of affected tissue and remove it with tweezers.

A fine needle aspiration FNA is a type of biopsy used if it is suspected a swelling in your neck is the result of mouth cancer. Your neck is numbed and a needle is used to draw out a small sample of tissue and fluids from the lump. The sample is then checked for cancerous cells. A panendoscope is used if the suspected tissue is at the back of your throat or inside one of your nasal cavities.

This is a long thin tube with a camera and a light which is guided through the nose, then used to remove a small section of tissue for the biopsy. The panendoscope can also check whether cancer has spread from your mouth to further down your throat, such as your larynx voice box , oesophagus gullet or trachea windpipe.

If the cancer is diagnosed late it can have spread from your mouth into the lymphatic system — a series of glands throughout your body which produce many of the specialised cells needed by your immune system. Once the cancer reaches the lymphatic system, it is capable of spreading to any other part of your body, including your bones, blood and organs.

However, it's uncommon for mouth cancer to spread further than the lymph nodes near your mouth, although in some cases it may also spread to surrounding bones, such as the jaw bone, and in some cases your lungs.

Therefore, the tests will examine your lymph nodes, bones and the tissue near the site of your initial tumour to check for the presence of other tumours. Once these tests have been completed it should be possible to tell what stage and grade your cancer is:.

There are three grades of mouth cancer: low-grade the slowest , moderate-grade and high-grade the most aggressive. Grading your cancer helps the doctor decide how quickly you need to be treated — read more about treating mouth cancer. Your treatment will depend on the type and size of the cancer, the grade and how far it's spread — as well as your general health. If the cancer hasn't spread beyond the mouth or the oropharynx the bit of your throat at the back of your mouth , a complete cure may be possible using a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, then a cure is unlikely but it will be possible to slow the progress of the cancer and help relieve symptoms by using surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Deciding what treatment is best for you can be difficult.

Your care team will make recommendations, but the final decision will be yours. Before going to hospital to discuss your treatment options, you may find it useful to write a list of questions to ask the specialist. For example, what are the advantages and disadvantages of particular treatments. Radiotherapy makes the teeth more sensitive and vulnerable to infection so before treatment begins, you'll be given a full dental examination and any necessary work will be carried out.

Your specialist nurse and your GP can provide help and support if you are finding it difficult to quit smoking and drinking. Read more about quitting smoking and cutting down on alcohol. Your doctor will explain all the possible side effects before your treatment begins. If your mouth cancer has spread to other parts of your body and it is not possible to cure it by surgery, your doctor may still recommend treatment. Treatment for control of cancer may include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, immunotherapy or pain-relieving medications or a combination of these.

Treatment may help to relieve symptoms, might make you feel better and may allow you to live longer. This means treatment designed to relieve symptoms rather than cure. The Cancer Council booklet Treatment for advanced cancer may be helpful to read.

Regularly attending the dentist for check-ups and flagging any changes to your mouth is important. You can reduce your risk of mouth cancer by:. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Before a biopsy, you need to discuss a range of issues with your doctor or surgeon.

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In time, the cells can migrate to other parts of the body. They start in the squamous cells that line the lips and the inside of the mouth. Doctors do not know why these changes happen, but some risk factors seem to increase the chance of mouth cancer developing.

Learn more here about HPV infection. Following a healthful diet that contains plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables may reduce the risk. If mouth cancer is a possibility, they may also recommend a biopsy, he doctor takes a small sample of tissue to check for cancerous cells. Imaging tests : An X-ray of the lungs, for example, will show if cancer has reached that area. The outlook for a person with oral or oropharyngeal cancer will depend on the stage of cancer, where it occurs in the mouth, and other factors.

The following statistics from the ACS show the average likelihood a person has of surviving at least 5 years with mouth cancer. Click here to learn more about tonsil cancer, which also has HPV as a risk factor. Read the article in Spanish. What does mouth cancer look like? Read on to discover what oral cancer may look like, its symptoms, and how to differentiate it from other conditions. The symptoms of tongue cancer include a painful tongue, redness, and sores or ulcers that will not heal.

The exact cause is unknown, but risk factors…. What is salivary gland cancer? A type of cancer that affects one of the salivary glands. Learn more details on, treatment, symptoms, and causes here. Lip cancer is a type of head and neck cancer that often starts with a lump on the lip that does not heal.