Mouth cancer, also called oral
cancer, refers to any cancerous tissue growth originated in the oral cavity,
including:
-
Tongue,
-
Lips,
-
Lining inside the cheek,
-
Gums,
-
Tonsils,
-
Salivary glands, and
-
Top
and bottom of the mouth.
The causes of mouth cancer are
unknown but there are certain risk factors that increase the chance that this
type of cancer may develop. These include:
-
Smoking
-
Alcoholism or excess of alcohol consumption
-
Human papilloma virus (infection with the HPV)
-
Diet
(poor in essential vitamins and minerals and overconsumption of red meat and
oily foods).
-
Family history of cancer.
Different countries use different types of staging methods. The two more used
are the Roman numerals from I to IV (I being the smallest and IV the most
advanced) and the TMN system (T defines the tumor, N the lymph nodes, and M
describes metastasis).
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