There are anterior of the mouth oral cancers that seem to have none of the current list of risk factors, and they are really aggressive. This is likely related to another genetic predisposition, but these young non smoking, low alcohol consumption, HPV negative people are surfacing. The question is are they something new, or are we just now noticing them?

You have to realize how far behind the cure the medical dental community has been in all this, and still is. 10 years ago when I went through treatment, HPV wasn't even a known risk factor. But there I was a never smoker with tonsil cancer. So it is possible that these new young people have actually been there all along, but because lack of scientific interest in the disease itself, and the lack of public dialog about it, and the amount of research (lacking) into the etiologies besides tobacco /alcohol, it is possible that we are just now seeing something that has been there all along.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.