"People should look for anything which is unusual, atypical, something new that is persisting, not going away, like a lump in the neck, a sore in the mouth, difficulty swallowing, change in voice," Khan said.

Khan says this type of cancer is very curable. But the infection can be prevented. HPV16 is one of the viruses targeted by the HPV vaccine. Khan says as the vaccine becomes more widely used, it's likely there will be fewer cases of this type of oral cancer.

In a recent study, however, the number of parents in the US who indicated they would not vaccinate their daughters against HPV increased from 40 to 44 percent. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends that boys be vaccinated against HPV.

In one promising discovery, researchers at the US National Cancer Institute said antibodies against the human papillomavirus may help identify those at risk for HPV-related oral cancer. Although the findings are preliminary, one day a simple blood test might be able to identify patients at risk.