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Oral cancer includes cancer of the lips, tongue, mouth, gums, salivary glands and oropharynx. The National Cancer Institute estimates that there will be approximately 35,000 new cases of oral cancer diagnosed in the United States in 2007. Of these, men are diagnosed two times more frequently than women.

The main risk factors associated with oral cancer are smoking—cigarettes, cigars, pipe and smokeless tobacco—and alcohol consumption. The five-year survival rate for patients with oral cancer has not significantly improved over the past three decades, with the mean survival of approximately 55 percent. This poor survival rate is attributed to the late diagnosis in the majority of patients.