New York State Department of Health Recognizes Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Awareness Month

Department Encourages People to Avoid Tobacco and Excess Alcohol Use and to Receive the HPV Vaccine

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 19, 2024) – The New York State Department of Health recognizes April as Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Awareness Month and encourages people to take preventive steps to reduce their risk. Cancers of the oral cavity and oropharynx include cancers of the lips, tongue, gums, tonsils, mouth, and upper throat.

"Tobacco use and excessive drinking should be avoided as these actions cause as many as 80 percent of all oral cavity cancers," State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. "People should also get the HPV vaccine series as it is the best protection against preventable cancers caused by human papillomavirus infection including Oropharyngeal Cancer."

Each year in New York State, more than 1,800 men and 800 women are diagnosed with cancer of the oral cavity. Roughly 375 men and 175 women in New York die of the disease each year.

Cancer of the oral cavity is two to three times more common among men than among women. Black men are more likely to get oral cavity cancer than white men and are almost twice as likely to die from the disease.

Most oral cavity cancers occur among people over the age of 60, but they can occur in young people. Cancer of the oral cavity is rare in children.

People who use tobacco and drink alcoholic beverages in excess have a much greater risk of oral cavity cancer than people who do either one alone (or people who do neither). Using tobacco of any kind, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco is the most frequent cause of cancer of the oral cavity. Drinking alcoholic beverages in excess can also cause cancer of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. Research indicates the more alcohol a person drinks regularly over time, the higher their risk of developing an alcohol-associated cancer.

Other risk factors include eating a diet low in fruits and vegetables and having a personal or family history of an oral cavity cancer.

In addition, certain parts of the oral cavity have their own risk factors:

• Lip - Cancer of the lip is associated with outdoor occupations, such as farming and fishing. This may be due to excess exposure to sunlight.
• Salivary gland - Cancer of the salivary gland has been associated with exposure to ionizing radiation, such as X-rays. It is also associated with working in the rubber-making industry.
• Oropharynx - 70 percent of mouth and upper throat, or oropharyngeal, cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. The Department recommends starting HPV vaccination for children at age 9 to prevent HPV-related cancer.

Information on HPV-related cancer incidence and vaccination rates can be found here. The HPV vaccine can prevent more than 90 percent of cancers caused by HPV from developing later in life.

New York State Department of Health's Community Cancer Prevention in Action (CPiA) program provides education about the importance of HPV vaccination in communities across the state and among a variety of health care providers.

The Department is an active member of the New York State Cancer Consortium, a network of more than 300 organizations working together to reduce the burden of cancer through strategies that promote cancer prevention, education, and screening. The Department participates in the Consortium's HPV Coalition, a group dedicated to increasing HPV vaccination and the prevention of HPV-related cancers. In addition the Department helps to facilitate the development and evaluation of the New York State Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan, in which there are goals and strategies related to decreasing the use of alcohol and tobacco among New Yorkers to lower the risk for associated cancers such as those of the oral cavity. An updated plan will be released in 2024.

New York State participates in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, End Results and Epidemiology program to collect standardized information on all cancer cases in New York. This information allows researchers, doctors, policy makers, public health professionals, and members of the public to monitor the burden of cancer, evaluate cancer prevention and control programs, and identify focus areas for research and policy development.

The New York State Cancer Registry also actively collaborates on research studies with a goal of improving cancer outcomes and reducing health disparities. In addition, the New York State Cancer Registry participates in the Virtual Pooled Registry- Cancer Linkage System (VPR-CLS) that allows researchers to conduct minimal risk linkage studies with multiple central cancer registries. The New York State Cancer Registry and cancer statistics can be found here.