Reasons why middle-aged and elderly people are more susceptible to tongue cancer

Tongue cancer has a low incidence rate and is a relatively rare cancer. Once you have tongue cancer, the disease progresses rapidly, causing patients to feel anxious and uneasy. Negative emotions will aggravate the growth of cancer cells, aggravate the disease, and increase the difficulty of treatment. In order to better treat cancer, today we will take a look at the reasons why middle-aged and elderly people are prone to tongue cancer:

The cause of tongue cancer is still unclear, but it may be related to the following factors.

(1) Long-term addiction to smoking and drinking - According to data from the United States, the incidence of addiction to smoking and drinking is 15 times higher than that of non-smokers and non-drinkers. Alcohol itself has not been proven to be carcinogenic, but alcohol and nicotine can act as solvents for carcinogens, allowing carcinogens to enter the tongue mucosa.

(2) Poor oral hygiene: creates conditions for bacteria or fungi to grow and multiply in the oral cavity, which is conducive to the formation of nitrosamines and their precursors, and contributes to the occurrence of tongue cancer.

(3) Long-term stimulation from foreign bodies: residual roots or crowns of teeth, sharp tooth tips, and inappropriate dentures can cause chronic inflammation and even cancer.

(4) Leukoplakia and erythema - The tongue is a common site for leukoplakia. Leukoplakia cancer accounts for about 12.3% of tongue cancers, and hyperplastic erythema cancer is 4 times the rate of leukoplakia.

(5) Biological carcinogens - Human papillomavirus is associated with the development of certain types of tongue cancer.

(6) Other factors, such as heredity, radiation, individual susceptibility, and nutritional metabolic disorders, are also related to the occurrence of tongue cancer. Through the introduction of the causes of tongue cancer, we can see that quitting smoking, drinking, and consuming unhealthy and stimulating foods are effective ways to prevent tongue cancer. We hope that people will pay more attention to this.

Among the many carcinogenic factors of tongue cancer, all of them can cause direct damage to the tongue mucosal epithelium, causing local mucosal degeneration, inflammation, necrosis, hyperplasia, atrophy and metaplasia, which are the basis of cancer. After reading the above introduction, I think everyone should understand the main causes of tongue cancer. In fact, many times, if you suffer from tongue cancer, it is mainly due to the bad living environment, and part of the reason is that everyone’s eating habits are not very good. In order to avoid this serious disease, everyone should pay attention to their health at ordinary times, check in time if there is a problem, and clarify their condition in time.