Definition
- Hypopharynx (lower part of the throat).
- Nasopharynx (which includes the area behind the nose).
- The larynx (voice box, located in front of the neck, in the region of the Adam's apple).
- The oral cavity (mouth). The lips, the tongue, the teeth, the gums, the lining inside the lips and cheeks, the floor of the mouth (under the tongue), the roof of the mouth and the small area behind the wisdom teeth are all included in the oral cavity.
- The oropharynx (which includes the back one-third of the tongue, the back of the throat and the tonsils).
In the larynx, the cancer can occur in any of the three regions: the glottis (where the vocal cords are); the supraglottis (the area above the glottis); and the subglottis (the area that connects the glottis to the windpipe).
Definition and Description of Head and Neck Cancers
Definition and Description of Head and Neck Cancers
The most frequently occurring cancers of the head and neck area are oral cancers and laryngeal cancers. Almost half of all the head and neck cancers occur in the oral cavity, and a third of the cancers are found in the larynx. By definition, the term "head and neck cancers" usually excludes tumors that occur in the brain.
Description
Head and Neck cancers refer to a diverse group of cancers that involve this region of the body with exclusion of cancers of thyroid gland, skin, lymph glands and brain. Roughly 13,000 Americans develop these cancers every year. They are more common in men than in women. Smoking and Tobacco use, along with alcohol, impose a great risk on individuals to develop these cancers. Most of these cancers origin from the tissues that line the airways in nostrils, salivary glands and throat, as well as inside the mouth, gums, tongue and upper part of esophagus.
Head and neck cancers involve the respiratory tract and the digestive tract; and they interfere with the functions of eating and breathing. Laryngeal cancers affect speech. Loss of any of these functions is significant. Hence, early detection and appropriate treatment of head and neck cancers is of utmost importance.
Definition and Description of Head and Neck Cancers
Definition and Description of Head and Neck Cancers
Roughly 10% of all cancers are related to the head and the neck. It is estimated that more than 55,000 Americans will develop cancer of the head and neck in 1998, and nearly 13,000 will die from the disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1998, approximately, 11,100 new cases of laryngeal cancer alone will be diagnosed and 4,300 people will die of this disease. Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States. Approximately 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year and it causes at least 8,000 deaths. Among the major cancers, the survival rate for head and neck cancers is one of the poorest. Less than 50% of the patients survive five years or more after initial diagnosis. This is because the early signs of head and neck cancers are frequently ignored. Hence, when it is first diagnosed, it is often in an advanced stage and not very amenable to treatment.
The risk for both oral cancer and laryngeal cancer seems to increase with age. Most of the cases occur in individuals over 40 years of age, the average age at diagnosis being 60. While oral cancer strikes men twice as often as it does women, laryngeal cancer is four times more common in men than in women. Both diseases are more common in black Americans than among whites.
Definition and Description of Head and Neck Cancers
Definition and Description of Head and Neck Cancers