Head & Neck Cancer 

What is cancer?

Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells in an orderly way. They perform their functions for a while, and then they die. Sometimes, however, cells do not die. Instead, they continue to divide and create new cells that the body does not need. The extra cells form a mass of tissue, called a growth or tumour.
 
There are two types of tumours: benign and malignant. Malignant tumours are cancers in which a group of cells display specific behavior:

  • Uncontrolled growth (division beyond the normal limits)
  • Invasion (intrusion on and destruction of adjacent normal tissues)
  • Metastases (spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood)

These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumours, which are self-limited, and do not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body.

Most head and neck cancers begin in the cells that line the mucosal surfaces in the head and neck area, such as the mouth, nose, and throat. Mucosal surfaces are moist tissues lining hollow organs and cavities of the body open to the environment. Normal mucosal cells look like scales (squamous) under the microscope, so head and neck cancers originating form these cells are named squamous cell carcinomas. Some head and neck cancers begin in other types of cells. For example, cancers that begin in glandular cells are called adenocarcinomas.
 
Cancers of the head and neck are identified by the area in which they originate:

Oral cavity
This includes the lips, the front two-thirds of the tongue, the floor (bottom) of the mouth under the tongue, the gingiva (gums), the buccal mucosa (lining inside the cheeks and lips), the hard palate (bony top of the mouth), and the small area behind the wisdom teeth.
 
Pharynx
This is a hollow tube about 12 centremetres long that starts behind the nose and leads to the oesophagus (the tube that goes to the stomach). The pharynx has three parts: nasopharynx (upper part located behind the nose); oropharynx (middle part includes the soft palate (the back of the mouth), the base of the tongue, and the tonsils;) hypopharynx (lower part of the pharynx).
 
Larynx
Also called the voice-box, this is located at top of the windpipe (trachea) and in front of the pharynx in the neck. The larynx contains the vocal cords. It also has a small piece of tissue, called the epiglottis, which moves to cover the larynx to prevent food from entering the air passages.
 
Salivary glands
These glands produce saliva, the fluid that keeps mucosal surfaces in the mouth and throat moist. There are three pairs of large (major) salivary glands near the jawbone and in the floor of the mouth, and there are hundreds of smaller (minor) salivary glands in the mouth and throat.
 
Paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity
Sinuses are small hollow spaces in the bones of the head surrounding the nose. The nasal cavity is the hollow space inside the nose.
Cancers of the brain, eye, and thyroid as well as those of the scalp, skin, muscles, and bones of the head and neck are not usually grouped with (mucosal) cancers of the head and neck.

If you are worried about any symptoms, talk to your GP or family doctor and ask for a referral to the MercyAscot Head and Neck Service.