Lip Cancer

The lower lip is approximately 12 times more likely to be affected, due to its greater exposure to sunlight.

Most frequently occurring in fair-skinned males over the age of 50, cancer of the lip comprises approximately 0.6% of all cancers in the US. Studies have shown that males are 3-13 times more likely to develop lip cancers, likely due to occupation-related sun exposure combined with greater tobacco and alcohol use.

Given their highly visible location, the majority of lip cancers are easily detectable by your dentist and treatable at an early stage. The most commonly employed treatments include surgery, radiation, and cryotherapy (freezing with liquid nitrogen), with cure rates for early lesions nearing 100%. Although cancers of the lip have relatively low rates of spread to nearby lymph nodes and distant sites, the relapse rate after treatment can range from 5-35%, and the mortality associated with large or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the lip is as high as 15% in some studies. Once these cancers spread to local lymph nodes, five-year survival rates decrease to approximately 50%.

Risk Factors

Lip cancer has been associated with smoking, alcohol consumption, and immunosuppression. Emerging data implicate human papillomavirus (HPV) in certain oral cancers, but it has not to date been found to be a major cause of lip cancers. The most important risk factor by far is cumulative UV exposure, which is associated with up to 90% of all nonmelanoma skin cancers.

Treatment of Lip Cancer

When detected by your dentist in Evansville, IN and treated early, lip cancer is almost always curable. However, large or recurrent cancers (possibly resulting from insufficient initial treatment) elevate the risk for local and distant spread.

Prevention

Regular use of sunscreen lip blocks reduce the risk of lip cancer. While sunscreen lip blocks can be effective in reducing UV exposure, most people do not apply them properly. From a practical standpoint, the actual Sun Protection Factors (SPFs, which measure protection against the sun’s UVB rays) provided by lip blocks are almost always lower than the number on the package because the blocks are not applied thickly or frequently enough. Additionally, many commercially available sunscreen lip blocks may be poorly absorbed and can be broken down quickly by UV light, losing their effectiveness — two compelling reasons for frequent reapplication.  It is critical to exercise careful sun protection through a combination of sun avoidance and shade-seeking; frequent application of a high-SPF lip block; and careful monitoring of skin changes.

Any changes to the lip that concern you should be brought to the attention of your dentist in Evansville, IN- Dr Jenkinks- or your physician immediately.