According to Oral Cancer Foundation, approximately 49,750 people in the US will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. The two leading causes of oral cancer are a history of tobacco use, especially chewing tobacco, although any form of tobacco use, including pipe and cigarette smokers are at a much greater risk. Other factors include alcohol consumption and exposure to the HPV-16 virus (a newly discovered form of the human papilloma virus). A smaller percentage of oral cancer patients may have a genetic predisposition to oral cancer.