• 11/15/2007
  • London, England
  • staff
  • The Press Association (ukpress.google.com)

Dental experts have called for more research into mouth cancer, which is killing as many people today as it did 30 years ago.

Treatments for mouth cancer have also remained unchanged for the past three decades.

Meanwhile, over the same period of time, the number of overall cancer deaths in the UK fell by 15%.

Professor Saman Warnakulasuriya, chair in oral medicine at King’s College London, said: “The failure to improve mouth cancer death rates over the last 30 years reflects the fact that people with the condition often don’t visit the dentist until it is too late.

“We need research into why this is and we also need clinical trials to find new generation anti-cancer medicines to combat the disease.”

He was addressing an audience of politicians, patients and leading experts at the launch of the Mouth Cancer Awareness Campaign at the House of Commons.

Each year in the UK more than 4,750 cases of mouth cancer are diagnosed and the disease causes more than 1,700 deaths. However results from a British Dental Health Foundation survey show that only one in four people in the UK have heard of mouth cancer. Even fewer recognise the key risk factors such as smoking and alcohol.

Dr Nigel Carter, the Foundation’s chief executive, said: “Our survey proves that awareness of this condition is dangerously low.

“Smoking is the most common cause of mouth cancer, but alcohol is almost as dangerous and the two together increase your risk by up to 30 times…it is a big worry that one in two people are completely unaware that alcohol is a risk factor, especially as up to one in four people believe you can catch it from spicy foods, hot drinks and kissing.

“Unfortunately the number of mouth cancer cases is increasing every year and more and more young people and women are being affected.”