Overview

Cancer occurs when cells in the body become abnormal and multiply without control or order. These cells form a growth of tissue called a tumor. A tumor can be benign or malignant. A benign tumor is not cancerous and usually can be removed without growing back. A malignant tumor is cancerous and can invade and damage the body’s healthy tissues and organs.

Head and neck cancer is a term used to describe a range of malignant (cancerous) tumors that can appear in or around the throat, larynx (voice box), nose, sinuses, and mouth.

Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, meaning they begin in the flat, squamous cells that make up the thin, surface layer (called the epithelium) of the structures in the head and neck. Directly beneath this lining, some areas of the head and neck have a layer of moist tissue, called the mucosa. If a cancer is limited to the squamous layer of cells, it is called carcinoma in situ. If the cancer has grown beyond this cell layer and moved into deeper tissue, then it is called invasive squamous cell carcinoma. If the cancer starts in the salivary glands, the tumor will usually be classified as an adenocarcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, or mucoepidermoid carcinoma; each is a rare type of cancer.

There are five main types of head and neck cancer, named by the part of the body where they begin. For more information on each type, select a name below.

Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancer

Nasal Cavity and Paranasal Sinus Cancer

Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer

Salivary Gland Cancer

Other types of cancer may be located in this area of the body, but the diagnosis and treatment are much different, so they are addressed separately on this website. Please see Cancer.Net’s Guide to Thyroid Cancer, Guide to Parathyroid Cancer, and Guide to Brain Tumor for information on those specific diseases.

Statistics

Head and neck cancer accounts for about 3% to 5% of all cancers in the United States. In 2009, an estimated 48,010 people (35,160 men and 12,850 women) will develop head and neck cancer, and an estimated 11,260 deaths (8,140 men and 3,120 women) will occur.

Cancer statistics should be interpreted with caution. These estimates are based on data from thousands of cases of this type of cancer in the United States each year, but the actual risk for a particular individual may differ. It is not possible to tell a person how long he or she will live with head and neck cancer.

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society’s publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2009.

Find out more about basic cancer terms used in this section.