Mouth and throat cancers are also caused by frequent alcohol use. Three out of four patients with mouth cancer are reportedly frequent alcohol users, many of whom drink in conjunction with using tobacco products. This combined use of alcohol and tobacco results in an exponential increase in risk for tumors of the head and neck.
While most people understand that excessive exposure to the sun can cause skin cancer, fewer realize that it can cause lip cancer as well. Further, poor diet and the human papillomavirus – more commonly known as a cause of cervical cancer – have been linked to mouth and throat cancers.
Some, though very few, people have a hereditary predisposition to cancer of the head or neck.