Overview

Cancers of the head and neck are malignant tumors that arise in the mouth, tongue, pharynx (in back of the mouth) and larynx (voice box). More than 40,000 Americans will develop cancer of the head and neck in 2006 and about 11,100 will die from it. One third of those deaths were due to laryngeal cancer (cancer associated with the larynx).

Head and neck cancers are often referred to as squamous cell carcinomas because most head and neck cancers begin in squamous cells. Squamous cells are cells that help make up the surface of the skin and the linings of hollow organs and the respiratory tract and parts of the digestive tract.

Cancers of the head and neck are classified by the area in which they begin:

• Oral. The oral cavity includes your lips, the front two thirds of your tongue, the gums, the lining inside the cheeks and lips, the bottom of the mouth under the tongue, the bony top of the mouth, and the small area behind your wisdom teeth.
• Salivary glands. Salivary glands make saliva and are located in several places: under the tongue, in front of the ears, under the jawbone, and in other parts of the upper digestive tract.
• Paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity. The paranasal sinuses are small hollow spaces in the bones of the head surrounding the nose. The nasal cavity is the hollow space inside the nose.
• Pharynx. The pharynx is a hollow tube that starts behind the nose and leads to the esophagus (the tube that goes to the stomach) and the trachea (the tube that goes to the lungs). The pharynx is about five inches long and has three parts:

  Nasopharynx. The nasopharynx is the area behind your nose.

  Oropharynx. The oropharynx is the middle part of the pharynx. It includes the soft palate (the back of the mouth), the base of the tongue, and the tonsils.

  Hypopharynx. The hypopharynx is the lower portion of the pharynx.

• Larynx. The larynx is your voice box. It contains the vocal cords and the epiglottis, the small dangling tissue that moves to cover the larynx, preventing food from entering the air passages.
• Lymph nodes in the upper part of the neck. Sometimes, squamous cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes of the upper neck when there is no evidence of cancer in other parts of the head and neck.

More on Cancers of Head and Neck

In the Encyclopedia:

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.