Causes of Hard Palate Cancer
When a patient is diagnosed with cancer, it is common for them to wonder why. However, there is not always a clear answer to this question. Currently, there is no definitive cause of hard palate cancer. It’s likely to be a combination of genetics and environmental factors. However, listed below are a few known risk factors for developing hard palate cancer.
- Tobacco
This is by far the most common risk factor for hard palate cancer. The use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or chewing tobacco substantially increases the chance of developing hard palate cancer. - Alcohol
Excessive alcohol consumption shows a strong association with the onset of oral squamous cell cancers. Moreover, smoking and drinking heavily more than doubles this cancer risk. - Betel nut
The seed of the areca tree is often chewed by people from Southeast Asia and is known to cause hard palate cancer.
Factors Associated with Developing Hard Palate Cancer
- Marijuana use
- Poor dental hygiene
- Viruses
- Poor nutrition
- Genetic factors
It is important to know, however, that minor salivary gland cancers can occur on the hard palate. These cancers are not related to the standard risk factors described above. It’s unclear what causes salivary gland cancer. See Oral Salivary Gland Cancer for more details.
Signs & Symptoms
Unlike other cancers of the head and neck, hard palate cancers can typically be seen or felt as an abnormality by a patient, a dentist, or a doctor. Symptoms to watch for include:
- Loose teeth or dentures that don’t fit correctly.
This occurs if the tumor invades the tooth sockets or the bones in which the teeth are rooted. - Numbness (i.e. in the cheek and upper teeth).
This means that the cancer cells have invaded the nerves that control the ability to feel. - Difficulty opening the mouth (trismus).
This can happen if the cancer gets into any of the muscles that help to open and close the mouth. - Painful sores in the mouth.
Most commonly, hard palate cancer starts as a painful sore in the mouth that doesn’t heal after a few weeks. - A patch in roof the mouth.
Patches in the mouth are most commonly either red (erythroplakia) or white (leukoplakia). Red patches are more likely to be cancer than white patches; however, any patch in the mouth that is persistent for several weeks should be biopsied by a specialist. - Fullness in the roof of the mouth.
Even though there may not be an open sore, some palatal cancers cause swelling underneath the lining of the palate which thereby leads to a protrusion that appears as a growth in this region. - Difficulty speaking (dysarthria).
This can occur when a tumor changes the way the tongue moves. - Recurrent bleeding from the mouth.
Growths in the mouth that are cancer tend to bleed easily when accidentally scraped while brushing teeth or eating certain foods. - Bad breath.
As cancers grow larger, dead cells within the tumor (necrotic cancer) lead to a bad smell from the mouth (halitosis). - Pain or difficulty with swallowing.
This can happen when tumors become large and get in the way of eating or involve the muscles and nerves of swallowing.
In some cases, the first sign of hard palate cancer could be a lump in the neck. This means that the tumor has spread to lymph nodes in the neck. However, in hard palate cancers, the primary cancer in the mouth is usually noticed before it reaches these lymph nodes.
It is important to note that a patient could have one or more of these symptoms and not have hard palate cancer. There are several non-cancerous causes of the same symptoms. That’s why it’s especially important to seek medical advice from a specialist.
