Smoking and Cancer of the Mouth, Pharynx, and Larynx

Abstract

One hundred and two smokers, all of whom had been cured of mouth or throat cancer, were divided into two groups: 65 who continued smoking, and 37 who stopped. Within approximately six years, 21 of the 65 patients who continued smoking acquired a second area cancer; only two of 37 quitters developed second cancers in this same period. The highly significant difference in distribution of second cancers implicates tobacco in the formation of most mouth-throat cancers. Mouth-cancer patients with a fair prognosis will gain a considerable advantage from quitting the use of tobacco.