Written By: N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe | Updated : December 4, 2025 8:46 AM IST
Dave Coulier, 66, who rose to fame for starring in the US TV sitcom Full House as Uncle Joey, has announced that he has been diagnosed with tongue cancer. The confirmation comes after he told his fans he was cancer-free seven months ago. The 66-year-old was previously diagnosed with stage three non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2024, which is a form of blood cancer.
While speaking to a leading media outlet, Full House star Dave Coulier said that his tongue cancer has "a 90% curability rate". In addition, the 66-year-old further added that he is undergoing 35 rounds of radiation that will end on 31 December. Talking about his latest diagnosis, the sitcom star recalls, "They said it's totally unrelated to my non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. This is a new cancer... I said, 'Are you kidding me?"
At the time when he announced 'cancer free' in March 2025, he told the media, "The symptoms were getting worse and worse with each treatment. So neuropathy, which I hadn't experienced before, started to increase. Nausea started to increase. Dizziness started to increase. They call it chemo brain, where you're a bit foggy that started to increase. My days of being able to get up and walk around and be active started to decrease."
"So in October of this year, I went in for a PET scan, just a routine check-up and something flared on the PET scan. It turned out that I have P16 squamous carcinoma at the base of my tongue. So I said to the doctors, I said, "Well, did this happen because of the lymphoma?' And they said, 'Totally unrelated,'" the Full House star told the media.
P16 carcinoma is also known as oropharyngeal tongue cancer. It is a type of protein that increases in cancer cells when human papillomavirus (HPV) is present. According to Dave Coulier, the tongue cancer "could stem from having an HPV virus up to 30 years ago. A lot of people carry the HPV virus, but they said mine activated and turned into a carcinoma."
About his current diagnosis, Dave Coulier said, "The doctor said the prognosis is good, but we're going to start radiation immediately It's a whole different animal than chemo. It doesn't feel as aggressive, but there are still side effects."
Dr. Arun Kumar Goyal, Chairman of Surgical Oncology, Andromeda Cancer Hospital, Sonipat, told HealthSite, "The tobacco use, including smoking of cigarettes, cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco products will greatly increase the risk of developing tongue cancers, as will heavy alcohol use, particularly when they occur together."
He added, "The human papillomavirus (HPV) is another risk factor, specifically for strains of the virus that affect the throat and base of the tongue. In addition, other risk factors contributing to increased tongue cancer incidence include age (risk begins at age 45), male sex (historically, men are more likely than women to smoke and drink), inadequate oral hygiene, chronic oral inflammation (irritation), diminished immunity and in some instances, genetic predisposition for tongue cancer.
"Thus, people who have decades-long histories of heavy tobacco use and/or alcohol consumption, specifically in smokeless tobacco or betel chew cultures, are at greatest risk of developing tongue cancer."
According to Dr. Goyal, early detection of tongue cancer can lead to improved outcomes via treatment options such as surgery and potentially radiation, chemotherapy, or targeted therapies, depending upon what stage your cancer is in at the time of detection.
He said, "Cancer prognosis also depends upon where it is located (front versus base of tongue) and other different things like HPV status. Tumours induced by HPV located at the base of the tongue appear to have a greater response rate to treatment options than non-HPV tumours found elsewhere within the oral cavity (or the back part)."
