Tongue floor cancer is also a type of oral cancer that develops in the tissue under the tongue and is extremely common in young people.
Oral cancer is one of the most lethal cancers that originates in the mouth and can spread rapidly throughout the body. According to experts, the back of the tongue (also known as the base, part of the oropharynx, which also includes the tonsils, the walls of the throat and the soft palate) is extremely sensitive and is among the areas most prone to developing cancer, such as a type of head and neck cancer.
Nearly all cancers at the base of the tongue are squamous cell carcinomas, which form in the thin, flat cells that line the larynx. It is the second most common type of skin cancer in the United States.
What are the types of cancer that occur under the tongue?
Doctors say there are two types of cancer that appear under the tongue:
Tongue cancer
It is a cancer that affects more than two-thirds of the mouth and is a type of oropharyngeal cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, at least 19,360 new diagnoses of tongue cancer will be made in the United States by 2025.
The floor of oral cancer
Floor of the mouth cancer is also a type of oral cancer that develops in the tissue under the tongue and is extremely common in young people.
Signs and symptoms of tongue cancer
Some signs and symptoms of cancer under the tongue are:
- A lesion that becomes permanent and looks like a bump with a red or white spot.
- Bleeding and numbness in the mouth.
- Extreme pain when speaking, moving the tongue, or swallowing food.
Oral cancer also spreads to the lymph nodes in the neck, causing extreme swelling, inflammation, and a lump in the neck that causes discomfort.
What causes cancer under the tongue?
According to experts, cancer under the tongue occurs when cells in the area begin to grow uncontrollably due to changes and mutations in DNA that affect cell growth and division. These changes may be present from birth or may be acquired during life.
Risk factors for cancer under the tongue
Doctors say the main risk factors that can lead to cancer under the tongue include:
- Smoking or chewing tobacco and tobacco products
- Excessive alcohol consumption
Studies indicate that those with both risk factors are 30 times more likely to develop cancer than those who smoke and drink heavily. Other factors that may increase the risk of cancer under the tongue include:
- Having a human papillomavirus or HPV infection
- Advanced age
- Being a man
What other conditions are similar to cancer under the tongue?
There can be several unexplained reasons for a lesion under the tongue, which doctors say are not necessarily due to cancer. Some of the benign conditions that cause similar symptoms are:
- A mouth injury
- Hits
- Mouth ulcers
- Herpes
- Thrush
- Cysts
- Warts on the tongue and mouth
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