April 12 to 18 was national Oral, Head, and Neck Cancer Awareness Week. Cancer from the neck up is typically associated with the tongue, throat, and voice box. But oral, head, and neck cancers can also occur in the mouth, lips, thyroid glands, nasal cavity, or sinuses.
Traditionally, tobacco and alcohol users were considered the populations at greatest risk. Now, according to new research from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, about ten percent of new cases of oral cancer is attributed to human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted infection.