FAQ's on Cancer

Head & Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer is the term given to a variety of malignant tumors that develop in the

1. oral cavity (mouth);
2. pharynx (throat);
3. paranasal sinuses (small hollow spaces around the nose lined with cells that secrete mucus);
4. nasal cavity (airway just behind the nose);
5. larynx ("Adam's apple" or voice box); and
6. salivary glands (parotid, submanidular, sublingual glands that secrete saliva).

Many authorities also include skin tumors of the face and neck and tumors of the cervical lymph nodes.


Excluding superficial skin cancers, but including cancer of the larynx and thyroid, it is conservatively estimated that about 60,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer annually - about 5% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States. There are more than half a million survivors of oral, head, and neck cancer living in the United States today.

Anatomy of the head and neck

The head and neck can be divided into several different regions:

1. nasopharynx: area behind the nose
2. pharynx: hollow tube at the upper part of the throat that starts behind the nose, runs down to the neck, and becomes part of the esophagus, the tube that goes to the stomach
3. oral cavity: lips, floor of mouth, tongue, buccal mucosa (lining inside the lips and cheeks), gingiva (gums) and hard palate (bony top of the mouth), salivary glands (parotid, submandibular and minor salivary glands)
4. oropharynx: base of tongue, tonsillar region, soft palate and pharyngeal walls
5. hypopharynx: bottom part of the throat
6. larynx (voice box): supraglottic, glottic (vocal cords), and subglottic regions
7. nasal cavity: paranasal sinuses (ethmoid and maxillary)