Oral cancer is a type of head and neck cancer. Despite being relatively rare, oral cancer is the third most common cancer among the Malaysian Indian community in Malaysian Ministry of Health Hospitals. Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world and is highly associated with the practice of tobacco smoking, betel quid chewing and excessive alcohol consumption. More recently however, for reasons that are still unclear, oral cancer is increasingly being diagnosed in individuals who do not partake in these risky habits.

Although oral cancer can be detected fairly easily, the death rates of oral cancer patients are higher than patients of many other cancer types mainly because it is often presented late.