Throat cancer begins with genetic mutation of cells. This mutations increase an abnormal growth of cells (cancerous cells) which then begin to replace the normal cells. These cancerous cells can also form a tumor in the throat, mouth or surrounding area.

The causes of these mutations are still not clear (so are throat cancer causes), however, there are some risk factors that increase the chances of getting the cancer.

The post here contains a brief information of causes of throat cancer, risk factors, and throat cancer effects on the body.

Throat Cancer Risk Factors

Throat cancer risk factors are those which increase the chances of getting throat cancer. They may or may not be the real cause of the disease, however, they always indicate the risk.

• Tobacco and alcohol use

  Use of tobacco is one of the biggest and most dangerous throat cancer reasons. It does not only attack the throat but can also give a head, neck or lung cancer. People who smoke have higher risk of having throat cancer than the non-smokers.

  The people who take more than 1 drink every day also have high risk of getting these cancers. And, who are both, smokers and drinkers, the risk gets multiplied.

• Poor nutrition

  A diet that lacks fruits and nutrition can decrease the immunity of a person and increases his/her risk of getting throat cancer. This can also be the reason for alcohol consumption being the risk factor, as the heavy drinkers are found to have a vitamin deficiency which leads to throat cancer. Hence, the proper diet with right and sufficient amount of nutrition can help to reduce the risk.

• Human papilloma virus infection

  Human papilloma virus (HPV) is found to be one of the most important risk factor of the cancer. An infection from this HPV can also turn into a cancer, not only in the throat but also in the other part the body too. Different kind of HPV attacks different parts of the body.

  These HPVs can spread by skin-to-skin contact or by sex including vaginal and anal intercourse and even oral sex.

• Genetic syndromes

  People who have inherited mutations in the genes, have high risk of getting throat cancer. For example, dyskeratosis congenital, is a kind of genetic syndrome which cause a very high risk of getting the mouth or throat cancer in early age.

• Gender

  The throat cancer risk is four times higher in men than women. The reason behind it can be the other important risk factors, like, smoking and drinking, are more common in men than women.

• Age

  These kind of the cancers develop slowly and can take many years to be found. Hence, they are not usually found in the younger people and are more common in the people with age of 65 or more.