As with lung cancer, many etiologic agents and risk factors have been associated with head and neck cancer. While evidence for some of them may not be very strong, the risk of developing an oral, pharyngeal or laryngeal cancer increases linearly with tobacco and alcohol consumption.

Numerous studies have concluded that tobacco, which contains carcinogens such as polonium 210, nitrosamines, and aromatic hydrocarbons, is directly linked to development of carcinomas.

More than 90 percent of oropharyngeal cancers are associated with smoking.

Alcohol has a strong association with head and neck cancer as well, especially when a user also smokes or chews tobacco. Although alcohol itself is not a carcinogen, it promotes the carcinogenicity of tobacco.

Various chemicals have been associated with head and neck cancer, including asbestos, chromium, nickel, arsenic and formaldehyde. Whether asbestos is a risk factor for head and neck cancer is controversial. While it is a strong risk factor for lung cancer, some studies have found no increased risk of head and neck cancers among asbestos workers.

Other factors in head and neck cancer include ionizing radiation, Plummer-Vinson Syndrome, Epstein-Barr Virus and Human Papilloma Virus. Plummer-Vinson Syndrome is rare, but these patients definitely have a high incidence of hypopharyngeal cancer. Though a cause-and-effect relationship has not been established, Human Papilloma Virus DNA has been isolated from head and neck cancer as well as from cancers of the uterine cervix in females.