Each year, there are around 14,000 new cases of ENT (otolaryngeal) cancer in France: certain factors increase the risk of developing the disease.
- The main risk factors for ENT (otolaryngeal) cancers are smoking, alcohol, human papillomavirus (HPV) and occupational exposure to certain substances.
- When they are consumed together, the risks of alcohol and tobacco multiply.
- 95% of people with such cancer are smokers, indicates the Foundation for Cancer Research (Arc).
Cancers of the ENT (otolaryngeal) sphere are the 4e cause of cancer in the country in France, according to the Curie Institute. This name brings together cancers that affect the upper aerodigestive tract (AVDS): those of the mouth, nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx (which make up the pharynx) and larynx, also called throat.
We take stock of the risk factors for these dangerous tumors.
ENT cancer: tobacco and alcohol, the two main risk factors
The main risk factor for these cancers is smoking. 95% of people with upper aerodigestive tract cancer (AVDS) are smokers, indicates the Cancer Research Foundation (Arc). But the risk decreases quickly and steadily by quitting smoking,”until it becomes close to that of people who have never smoked after twenty years“, notes the Arc Foundation.
The second greatest risk factor is alcohol consumption, which “appears from one drink per day and increases with the total dose ingested”explains theCurie Institute. Thus, alcohol is responsible for 50% of cancers of the mouth and larynx and 80% of cancers of the pharynx and esophagus.
When combined with smoking, alcohol consumption is even more dangerous. “When consumed together, the effects of tobacco and alcohol do not add up, they multiply, noted the National Cancer Institute. This is called the synergistic effect on cancer risk of VADS, particularly of the larynx.”
One reason is ethanol, the alcohol molecule found in all drinks. When a person drinks a drink, whatever it is, this molecule irritates several mucous membranes in its path – mouth, esophagus, throat -, this “which makes them more permeable to other carcinogens, particularly linked to tobacco“, notes the Institut Curie.
Papillomavirus increases risk of oropharyngeal cancer
Another risk factor: human papillomavirus (HPV). According to Canadian Cancer Society, the vast majority of oropharyngeal cancers – which affects the tonsils and back of the throat – are caused by infection with the human papillomavirus virus. In 2018, of the 4,993 new cases of oropharynx cancer recorded in France by Public Health France3,793 tumors concerned men and 1,200 women.
Another virus also increases the risk of ENT cancers: Epstein-Barr virus. This virus, a member of the herpes virus family, infects certain cells in the lining of the mouth and pharynx. According to the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), “in certain individuals, its presence is responsible for the appearance of cancers of the lymphatic system as well as cancers of the stomach or nasopharynx.”
Finally, the last risk factor: professional exposure to certain substances, such as wood dust classified as a “proven carcinogen”, to which those who work in environments are exposed. sawmills. Breathing this dust increases the risk of cancers of the nasopharynx, sinuses and nasal cavities. According to Arc Foundationthese substances are the cause of 45% of these cancers.
