What are the main risk factors for head and neck cancer?

Alcohol and tobacco use are the two most important risk factors for head and neck cancers, especially cancers of the mouth, hypopharynx, and voice box. This includes secondhand smoke and smokeless tobacco. People who use both tobacco and alcohol are at greater risk than people who use only one.

Infection with cancer-causing types of human papillomavirus (HPV), especially HPV type 16, is a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancers that involve the tonsils or the base of the tongue.

Other known risk factors include the use of paan (betel quid), certain workplace exposures, past radiation to the head and neck, Epstein-Barr virus infection, some ancestry backgrounds, and certain inherited genetic disorders. Your healthcare team is the best source of information about your own risk.