Oral (mouth) cancer among women is increasing dramatically, according to the Irish Dental Association (IDA). It said increased smoking and drinking among women were partly to blame.
The association last night called for increased awareness among the medical profession, including dentists and doctors, about the condition as well as a national cancer network to share information on the condition.
The IDA said women now accounted for about 33 per cent of the oral cancer cases diagnosed each year. It said that during the 1990s just 12 per cent of oral cancer cases were accounted for by women.
"There is no doubt that oral or mouth cancer is related to smoking and drinking," said Prof Leo Stassen of the IDA, "but there are other factors including diet, which has changed over time, and we also recognise now that there is a genetic component to developing different cancers."
Prof Stassen said a person - male or female - who drinks or smokes a lot increases their chances of getting oral cancer by up to 40 per cent. However, he said someone who stopped smoking could reduce their risk to a normal level within 10-15 years.
Prof Stassen said oral cancer was not one of the more high profile cancers, but it caused more deaths each year than cervical cancer, for example. He said the repercussions of oral cancer included possibly interfering with a person's speech, ability to eat food or to drink.
This year more than 500 cases of head and neck cancer will be diagnosed. Of these about 150 will be cancer of the mouth.
Prof Stassen, who is also a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon at St James's Hospital and the Dublin Dental School, said there was also an increase in the number of young people presenting with oral cancer - often non-smokers or non-drinkers. He said some of this could be attributed to carcinogens in urban areas, including tobacco smoke and car fumes.
Prof Stassen said it was important to raise awareness among doctors, nurses and dentists about oral cancer, adding that generally doctors did not like examining people's mouths. He also said that about 50 per cent of people did not have a dentist. If they did, they could be checked every time they go for a check-up.
Prof Stassen said early detection was vital. Those diagnosed early resulted in an 86 per cent chance of survival. However, according to the IDA, these rates fall to just 10 per cent if the cancer has become advanced.
The professor called for a national cancer network to be developed. "We need to develop a multidisciplinary team approach to mouth cancer which will ensure that every patient receives the best possible treatment."
He said a database should be available to all medical professionals so they could increase their knowledge of oral, head and neck cancer, and help them identify the symptoms as early as possible, to maximise their patients' survival rates.