What is oral and oropharyngeal cancer?

Oral and oropharyngeal cancers are also known as head and neck cancers and is a general term for a range of cancers in the mouth, nose, thoat and neck region. About 9 out of 10 oral and oropharyngeal cancers start in the moist lining of the mouth, nose or throat. This lining is called the squamous epithelium, and these cancers are called mucosal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). Some head and neck cancers start in glandular cells, and many of these cancers are called adenocarcinomas.

You can access further information about oral and oropharyngeal cancer, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.

The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.

How common is oral and oropharyngeal cancer?

In 2022, 1266 Victorians were diagnosed with oral and oropharyngeal cancer. Of these, there were 906 males and 360 females, representing 71.6% and 28.4% of the total Victorian oral and oropharyngeal cancer diagnoses, respectively. Currently, oral and oropharyngeal cancer is diagnosed at a rate of 16.8 per 100,000 males and 5.9 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of oral and oropharyngeal cancer is 64 years in males and 67 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 3.5% of all cancers diagnosed and 2.2% of all cancer-related deaths in 2022, oral and oropharyngeal cancer was the 7th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 15th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.

Trends in oral and oropharyngeal cancer over time

Figure 3 shows that for males between 1982 to 1997 the incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancer was stable, between 1997 to 2006 incidence declined by an average of 2.8% per year, and between 2006 to 2022 incidence stabilised.

For females between 1982 to 1999 the incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancer increased by an average of 1.7% per year, between 1999 to 2006 incidence declined by an average of 4.6% per year, between 2006 to 2017 incidence stabilised, and between 2017 to 2022 incidence increased by an average of 3.9% per year.

For males between 1982 to 2022 the incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancer declined by an average of 2.5% per year.

For females between 1982 to 2022 the incidence of oral and oropharyngeal cancer declined by an average of 1.9% per year.

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer morphology

Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused oral and oropharyngeal cancers among all cases. Most oral and oropharyngeal cancer tumours, 85.9%, present as Squamous cell carcinoma tumours.

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer subtypes

Figure 5 provides a breakdown of oral and oropharyngeal cancers by subsite location in 2022. Most (20%) are found in the Tongue.

Geographical variance in oral and oropharyngeal cancer by local government area

Figure 6 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of oral and oropharyngeal cancer, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of oral and oropharyngeal cancer.

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer in people born overseas

Figure 7 shows the age standardised incidence rates of oral and oropharyngeal cancers in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2017 to 2021. The highest age standardised incidence rate for oral and oropharyngeal cancers was 18 for males born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 6.8 was observed in males born in the Southern and Central Asia region. The highest age standardised incidence rate of oral and oropharyngeal cancers was 5.4 for females born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 3 was observed in females born in the South and Central America region.

Oral and oropharyngeal cancer five-year relative survival

Figure 8 shows the change in 5-year survival for oral and oropharyngeal cancer, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for oral and oropharyngeal cancer between 1982-1986 and 2017-2021 from 61% to 75%.