Younger and younger patients are being diagnosed with oral cancer, a disease that, until recently, was thought to only infect older patients. Delta Dental of Tennessee has released a new education video on YouTube entitled, “Oral Cancer: We need to talk about it,” in an attempt to spread awareness about the rising trend of oral cancer in patients under 40.
According to the video, 40,000 to 50,000 cases of oral cancer are diagnosed annually with around a 50 percent survival rate over five years. The rise in younger patients is thought to be attributed to the increase in cases of the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Studies on groups of people with head and neck cancers show that roughly 25 percent of these individuals also tested positive for HPV. Oral cancer is the sixth most common form of cancer and 75 percent of cases are due to lifestyle choices such as smoking, excessive drinking and prolonged sun exposure.
A heart-felt thanks to Delta Dental for spreading the word about this dangerous and growing oral health concern. After viewing the video, we’d like to hear your thoughts on the spread of oral cancer in our comments section.
