Field Cancerization: Oral Lesions Offer First Signs

pronounced risk of oral cancer,4 combining tobacco and alcohol results in an increased cancer incidence many times greater than the additive effects.5 It is estimated that three-quarters of all oral and pharyngeal cancers are caused by excessive smoking and heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages.6 Field cancerization is defined as the increased risk of cancer development in the entire upper aerodigestive tract after prolonged exposure to carcinogens.7 People using the co-carcinogens of tobacco and alcohol increase their risk of developing simultaneous or subsequent second primary epithelial cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract and lungs.8-10