MediLexicon News - British Dental Association Comment On 'alarming' Rise In Oral Cancer Rates Among People In Their Forties

news headlines

email to a friend

printer friendly

British Dental Association Comment On 'alarming' Rise In Oral Cancer Rates Among People In Their Forties

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 16 Aug 2009

The British Dental Association expressed concern at the statistics released by Cancer Research UK this week showing that oral cancer rates in the UK for men in their 40s have gone up by 28 per cent since the mid 1990s, and rates for women in their 40s have increased by 24 per cent in the same period. According to the charity, oral cancer rates have increased by more than 45 per cent since records began in 1975, for both men and women of all ages.

Commenting on these figures, Keith Altman, Chair of the BDA's Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services (CCHDS), said:

"These figures are worrying and chime with our experience of seeing a substantial increase in the number of people being treated for oral cancer in our hospitals. We believe the rise is related to alcohol intake, smoking and demographic factors.

"Most of the patients we see in hospitals with oral cancer are referred by dentists. As dentists routinely screen patients for oral cancer, they play an important role in diagnosing the condition.

"We can't stress enough the importance of patients going to see their dentist regularly as the earlier the condition is detected the better the prognosis."

Source
British Dental Association

Original article posted on Medical News Today.
Articles not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

Medical News Today publishes the latest health news and health videos for consumers and health professionals. It has a searchable archive of over 100,000 health news articles.

< back to medical news

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Send your press releases to

British Dental Association Comment On 'alarming' Rise In Oral Cancer Rates Among People In Their Forties

PDA Medical Dictionary