Incidences of mouth cancer Last year, 8,846 people in the United Kingdom were diagnosed with mouth cancer. This means that one person in the UK is diagnosed with mouth cancer every hour. Mouth cancer is the 14th most common cancer in the UK. In men, mouth cancer is the 9th most common cancer in the UK, with around 6,015 new cases a year. In women, mouth cancer is the 15th most common cancer in the UK, with around 2,831 new cases a year. Most mouth cancers occur in the tongue. These make up around one in three cases for men and women. Mouth cancer is strongly associated with age. More than three in four (91%) mouth cancers are diagnosed in those over the age of 50. Manage Cookie Preferences