Belfast, September 2, 2025 — Hazel Smyth, a 45-year-old civil servant from near Belfast, Northern Ireland first noticed a sharp, stinging pain on the right side of her tongue after eating strongly flavored foods like prawn cocktail crisps and Chinese chicken curry. She initially attributed the discomfort to a food intolerance, as the pain faded within 10 or more minutes. Months later, however, milder foods such as chocolate and tomatoes caused the same sensation. An enthusiastic cyclist, concerned over these unusual symptoms, she visited her general practitioner. Two biopsies confirmed stage one tongue cancer in August 2024. During surgery, doctors discovered the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes, upgrading it to stage four and reducing her survival rates. Hazel underwent a seven-hour operation to reconstruct her tongue and remove the cancerous portions in lymph nodes.
She had to follow up with radiotherapy for reducing the chances of relapses. By November 2024, she was declared cancer-free. She credits those early warning signs from everyday food with saving her life.
The global epidemiological trends in tongue cancer have shifted toward more incidences in younger and female groups. The tongue is the most common site for oral cavity carcinoma. [1] With global incidence exceeding 389.000 new cases annually, OSCC remains one of the most common tumors worldwide, and this scenario is projected to get worse, as the incidence is estimated to rise 65% by 2050. [2]
Recognising symptoms early is vital. Common warning signs include a persistent sore or ulcer that fails to heal, red or white patches, lumps or thickening on the tongue, unexplained pain or bleeding, difficulty swallowing, and numbness or stiffness in the tongue or jaw. In some cases, burning sensations or pain triggered by certain foods may be among the earliest clues, but these are rare.
Risk factors include tobacco use, excessive alcohol intake, and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). [1]
Early-stage diagnosis significantly improves prognosis. According to U.S. data, the five-year relative survival rate is around 84% when the cancer remains localized; however, it drops to 70% when it spreads regionally to lymph nodes, and to 41% with distant metastases. [3]
References:
Constitutional of the article titled “Shifting Epidemiology Trends in Tongue Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study”, PMC. Accessed September 1, 2025.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10705286/
Coletta, Ricardo D., W. Andrew Yeudall, and Tuula Salo. “Current Trends on Prevalence, Risk Factors and Prevention of Oral Cancer.” Frontiers in Oral Health 5 (November 13, 2024): Article 1505833. https://doi.org/10.3389/froh.2024.1505833. Accessed September 1, 2025.
Available via PMC: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11599248/
National Cancer Institute. “Tongue Cancer — Cancer Stat Facts.” SEER. Accessed September 1, 2025.
https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/tongue.html
(Rh/Eth/TL/MSM)