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Hospital of Saint Raphael
1450 Chapel Street
New Haven, Connecticut 06511
(203) 789-3000
Sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth

Head and Neck Cancer

Risk Factors

Head and neck risk factors

Men over 50 are most at risk for developing head and neck cancers, reports the American Cancer Society. African-Americans are twice as likely as Caucasians to develop the condition.

Although most at risk are those who:

use any form of tobacco -- cigarettes, cigars, pipes, snuff;
regularly drink excessive amounts of alcohol; and
spend long, unprotected hours in the sun.

Secondary risk factors include:

poor nutrition
an immune system weakened by a chronic condition like AIDS or an organ transplant
occupational exposure to wood dust, paint fumes, asbestos and other hazardous chemicals and materials.

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