Lip cancer is cancer that affects the skin of the lips. Lip cancer can occur anywhere along the upper or lower lip. It is most common on the lower lip. Lip cancer is a type of mouth cancer, also called oral cancer.

Most lip cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. This means they begin in the thin, flat cells in the middle and outer layers of the skin called squamous cells.

Lip cancer can be caused by too much sun exposure. It also can be caused by tobacco use. You may lower your risk of lip cancer by protecting your face from the sun with a hat or lip balm with sunscreen, and by quitting smoking.

Treatment for lip cancer usually involves surgery to remove the cancer. If the cancer is small, the surgery may be simple and have little effect on the way you look.

If you have a larger lip cancer, you may need more extensive surgery. With careful planning and reconstruction, you can still eat and speak as usual and achieve a good appearance after surgery.

Signs and symptoms of lip cancer include:

• A flat or slightly raised red or whitish discoloration of the lip.
• A sore on the lip that won't heal
• Tingling, pain or numbness of the lips or the skin around the mouth.

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you.

Most lip cancers are caused by exposure to light from the sun or from tobacco use. The light that comes from the sun is a kind of ultraviolet light. This kind of light also can come from tanning beds and tanning lamps. Ultraviolet light contains radiation that changes the DNA inside the skin's cells and can lead to lip cancer.

Lip cancer happens when cells in the lips get changes in their DNA. A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do. In healthy cells, the DNA tells the cells to grow and multiply at a set rate. The DNA also tells the cells to die at a set time.

In cancer cells, the DNA changes give different instructions. The changes tell the cancer cells to grow and multiply quickly. Cancer cells can keep living when healthy cells would die. This causes too many cells.

The cancer cells might form a mass called a tumor. The tumor can grow to invade and destroy healthy body tissue. In time, cancer cells can break away and spread to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads, it's called metastatic cancer.

Factors that can increase the risk of lip cancer include:

• Tobacco use of any kind, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and snuff, among others.
• Skin that sunburns easily.
• Excessive sun exposure to the lips.
• A weakened immune system.

To reduce your risk of lip cancer, you can:

• Stop using tobacco or don't start. If you use tobacco, stop. If you don't use tobacco, don't start. Using tobacco, whether smoked or chewed, exposes your lips to harmful chemicals that can cause cancer.
• Stay out of the sun during the middle of the day. For much of North America, the sun's rays are strongest between about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Plan outdoor activities at other times of the day. When outside, stay in the shade as much as possible.
• Wear sunscreen year-round. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, even on cloudy days. Apply sunscreen generously. Protect your lips by using a lip balm that contains sunscreen. Apply again every two hours, or more often if you're swimming or sweating.
• Wear protective clothing. Use a wide-brimmed hat to shield your face.
• Don't use tanning beds. The lights in tanning beds give off ultraviolet light. Using tanning beds increases the risk of lip cancer.
• Check your skin often and report changes to your healthcare team. Look at your face often for new growths or sores. Also, note any pain, numbness, or tingling on or near your lips.

Diagnosis for lip cancer usually starts with an exam. A healthcare professional may examine your lip and face. Other tests and procedures might include imaging tests and removing some skin from the lip for testing.

Physical exam

During a physical exam, your healthcare professional may check your lip, mouth, face and neck for signs of cancer. The health professional also may ask about your symptoms.

Biopsy

A biopsy is a procedure to remove a sample of tissue for testing in a lab. A healthcare professional may remove some skin from your lip. The results of this test may show whether you have lip cancer and tell you what kind it is if you do.

Imaging tests

Imaging tests can help look for signs that the cancer has spread beyond the lip. These tests may include:

• Computerized tomography (CT) scan.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

Lip cancer treatments include surgery, radiation therapy and medicines. Medicines used for lip cancer include chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Your healthcare professional discusses treatment options with you. The best treatment for you depends on the type, location and size of your lip cancer, as well as your preferences.

Surgery

Surgery can remove the lip cancer and some of the healthy tissue that surrounds it. The surgeon then repairs the lip to allow for eating, drinking and speaking as usual. Methods to reduce scarring also are used.

For small lip cancers, repairing the lip after surgery may be simple. But for larger lip cancers, skilled plastic and reconstructive surgeons may be needed to repair the lip. Reconstructive surgery may involve moving tissue and skin from another part of the body to the face.

Surgery for lip cancer also may involve removing cancerous lymph nodes from the neck.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy treats cancer with powerful energy beams. Radiation therapy for lip cancer may be used on its own or after surgery. The radiation may be aimed only at your lip, or it also may be aimed at the lymph nodes in your neck.

Radiation therapy for lip cancer most often comes from a large machine that precisely focuses the energy beams. This kind of radiation therapy is called external beam radiation therapy. Sometimes the radiation can be placed directly on your lip and left in place for a short time. This procedure, called brachytherapy, allows for higher doses of radiation.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy treats cancer with strong medicines. For lip cancer, chemotherapy sometimes is used with radiation therapy to increase the effectiveness of treatment. If the lip cancer has spread to other areas of the body, chemotherapy may reduce symptoms and make you more comfortable.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy for cancer is a treatment that uses medicines that attack specific chemicals in the cancer cells. By blocking these chemicals, targeted treatments can cause cancer cells to die. For lip cancer, targeted therapy might be used with radiation therapy or chemotherapy. It might help treat lip cancers that come back after treatment or spread to other parts of the body.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy for cancer is a treatment with medicine that helps the body's immune system kill cancer cells. The immune system fights off diseases by attacking germs and other cells that shouldn't be in the body. Cancer cells survive by hiding from the immune system. Immunotherapy helps the immune system cells find and kill the cancer cells. For lip cancer, immunotherapy might help treat cancer that comes back or spreads to other parts of the body.

A cancer diagnosis can change your life forever. Most people find their own way of coping with the emotional and physical changes cancer brings. But when you're first diagnosed with cancer, it can be hard to know what to do next. Here are some ideas to help you cope.

Learn enough about cancer to make decisions about your care

Talk to your healthcare professional about your cancer, your treatment options and your prognosis if you want to know. As you learn more about cancer, you may feel more confident in making treatment decisions.

Find a good listener

Finding someone who is willing to listen to you talk about your hopes and fears can be helpful as you manage a cancer diagnosis. This could be a friend or family member. A counselor, medical social worker or clergy member also may offer helpful guidance and care.

Ask your healthcare team about support groups in your area or contact the American Cancer Society. Find support online through Mayo Clinic Connect, which is a community where you can connect with others for support, practical information and answers to everyday questions.

Start by making an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional if you have any symptoms that worry you. If your healthcare professional suspects you might have lip cancer, you may be referred to a skin doctor, called a dermatologist, or to an ear, nose and throat doctor, called an otolaryngologist.

To make the most of your appointment, it's important to be prepared. Appointments can be short, and there's often a lot to discuss. Here is some information to help you get ready and what to expect from your healthcare professional.

What you can do

When you make the appointment, ask if there's anything you need to do in advance, such as restrict your diet.

Make a list of:

• Your symptoms, even if they seem unrelated to the reason for the appointment.
• Key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.
• All medicines and natural remedies. Include any prescription medicines or medicines you can buy without a prescription that you're taking. Be sure to also list any vitamins, supplements or herbal remedies you use.
• Questions to ask your healthcare professional.

Take a family member or friend along, if possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to take in all the information provided during an appointment. Someone who is with you may remember something that you missed or forgot.

Some basic questions to ask about lip cancer include:

• Can you explain what my test results mean?
• Do you recommend any other tests or procedures?
• What is the stage of my lip cancer?
• What are my treatment options?
• What side effects are likely with each treatment?
• How will treatment affect my daily life?
• Which treatment options do you think are best for me?
• How likely is it that I'll achieve remission with the treatments you recommend?
• How quickly must I make a decision on my treatment?
• Should I get a second opinion from a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it?
• Are there brochures or other printed materials that I can take with me? What websites do you recommend?

In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your healthcare professional, don't hesitate to ask other questions that occur to you.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare professional is likely to ask you a number of questions. Be ready to answer questions such as:

• When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
• Have your symptoms been continuous or occasional?
• How severe are your symptoms?
• What, if anything, seems to improve your symptoms?
• What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?