Tobacco and Cancers of the Throat, Voice Box and Mouth

The throat is a shared passage for food, air and voice, so cancer there goes by several names: oral cavity cancer, oropharyngeal cancer and laryngeal cancer. This page covers what the sources we read say about tobacco and cancers of the mouth, throat and voice box, which symptoms they tell people to report, and what they say about quitting. For cancer in general, see smoking and cancer and the list of cancers linked to smoking.

Which parts of the throat are involved

The larynx is the voice box. Wikipedia describes laryngeal cancer as cancer that can develop in any part of it, and says it is typically a squamous-cell carcinoma, meaning it starts in the surface lining of the larynx.

HealthLinkBC uses a wider term. It defines oral cancer as the growth of abnormal cells in any part of the mouth or lips, and says it may also be called oral cavity cancer or oropharyngeal cancer. The pharynx is the throat behind the mouth, so oropharyngeal cancer sits there.

What the sources say about smoking

For the larynx, the Wikipedia article is direct: the most important risk factor for laryngeal cancer is tobacco smoking. It also says that death from laryngeal cancer is 20 times more likely for the heaviest smokers than for their non-smoking peers. Wikipedia is not a medical authority on its own, so treat that figure as a pointer to the research it cites, not as a Canadian statistic.

For the mouth and throat, HealthLinkBC says the things that increase the risk of oral cancer include using tobacco and heavy alcohol use. It adds that some combinations of risk factors, such as using tobacco and drinking alcohol, raise the risk more than either one alone. The article on laryngeal cancer also names heavy alcohol use as a risk factor.

HealthLinkBC lists other risk factors for oral cancer that have nothing to do with smoking: being male, HPV infection and, for lip cancer, long exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun or tanning beds. Smoking is one risk factor among several, and the sources do not say that every person with these cancers smoked.

Symptoms to report to a doctor

HealthLinkBC says to talk with your doctor if you have any of these signs:

• a sore on your lip or in your mouth that bleeds easily and does not heal
• a lump or thickening on your lips, gums, cheek or in your mouth
• a white or red patch on your gums, tongue, tonsils or the lining of your mouth
• a sore throat or a feeling that something is caught in your throat
• unexplained difficulty chewing, swallowing, speaking or moving your jaw or tongue
• numbness or pain in your tongue or other areas of your lips or mouth
• swelling in your jaw that makes your teeth loose or your dentures fit poorly
• changes in your voice, or dry mouth

The Wikipedia article on laryngeal cancer lists hoarseness or other voice changes, a lump in the neck, a persistent cough, a high-pitched wheezing sound from a narrowed airway, earache and difficulty swallowing. It says the symptoms depend on the size and location of the tumour.

Many of these signs also come from ordinary causes such as infections. A lasting cough is covered in smoker’s cough causes and when to see a doctor. A dentist or doctor can look closely at the lips, mouth and throat, and HealthLinkBC says other tests, such as a biopsy, may be needed if there are possible signs of cancer. In British Columbia you can also call 8-1-1 to reach a health navigator. Elsewhere in Canada, a pharmacist, family doctor or your provincial health line can point you to care.

What the sources say about quitting

HealthLinkBC says that when you quit smoking, you lower your risk of many types of cancer, and its list names the lung, bladder, kidneys, pancreas, cervix, mouth, esophagus and throat. That is a general statement for the group, not a number for any one cancer.

The pages we read do not say how much the risk of throat or voice box cancer falls after a given number of years without smoking, so this page gives no timeline. For the wider effects of smoking on the body, see cigarette side effects and what smoking does to the lungs.

What we could not confirm

• A Canadian figure for how many cases of throat, mouth or laryngeal cancer are caused by smoking. The Canadian Cancer Society pages on these cancers did not load for us, so we have not quoted them.
• How many years after quitting the risk of these cancers drops, or whether it reaches the level of someone who never smoked.
• Whether vaping or smokeless tobacco changes the risk. We found no statement on e-cigarettes that we could verify.
• Survival rates in Canada for these cancers.