Statistics About Oral Cancer

As the following statistics show, oral cancer is a serious health threat. Be sure to talk with your dentist about regular screenings.

• More than 36,000 Americans will likely be diagnosed with oral cancer for the first time in 2010.¹

• Oral cancer will cause about 7,800 deaths in 2010.¹

• On average, 59 percent of those with the disease will live more than five years.² 

• Oral cancer affects about two times as many men as women.²

• Smokers are six times as likely to develop oral cancer as nonsmokers.³ By quitting the habit, smokers can cut their risk in half in just five years. After 10 years, former smokers have the same risk as people who never used tobacco.⁴

• Between 75 percent and 80 percent of people with oral cancer frequently drink alcohol.³

The number of people with oral cancer increases after age 35. Half of all oral cancer cases occur in people older than age 68.³ 

¹ “SEER Stat Fact Sheet. Cancer: Oral Cavity and Pharynx.” National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. www.seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/oralcav.html Accessed 2010.

² “Oral Cancer.” National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, July 2006. www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/Topics/OralCancer/OralCancer.htm Accessed 2010.

³ “Oral Cancer.” American Cancer Society, 2007. www.cancer.org/downloads/PRO/OralCancer.pdf Accessed 2010.

⁴ “Oral Cancer Prevention. Patient Version.” National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, December 19, 2008. www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/prevention/oral/patient Accessed 2010.