Head and neck cancers

We also have a video with more detail about the treatment of oral cancer|.

Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth (oral cancers) and the throat, as well as rarer cancers of the nose, sinuses, salivary glands and middle ear. 

Mouth cancers (oral cancers)  Back to top

The mouth is the most common place for head and neck cancer to develop.

Mouth cancer can develop on the lip, the tongue, the floor of the mouth (under the tongue), the inside of the cheek, the roof of the mouth (the hard palate), the area behind the wisdom teeth or the gum.

Lip cancer

Most lip cancers occur on the bottom lip.

Cancer of the oral cavity (inside the mouth)

The most common places for cancer to develop inside the mouth are the side of the tongue and the floor of the mouth.

Throat cancers Back to top

Doctors use different names to describe different areas of the throat and the cancers that can develop there.

Cancer of the nasopharynx

The nasopharynx is the highest part of the throat behind the nose. Cancers that occur here are called nasopharyngeal cancers|.

Cancer of the oropharynx

The oropharynx is the part of the throat directly behind the mouth. It includes the soft part of the roof of the mouth (the soft palate), the base of the tongue (the part you can’t see), the tonsils and the back and side walls of the throat.

The most common places in the oropharynx for cancer to develop are the tonsils and the base of the tongue. We have more information about cancer of  the oropharynx|.

Cancer of the voice box (larynx)

This is the second most common place for head and neck cancer to develop. We have more information about cancer of the voice box|.

Cancer of the thyroid gland

Cancer can also develop in the thyroid gland. It is treated differently from other types of head and neck cancer. We have more information about thyroid cancer|.

 

 

Rarer cancers of the head and neck Back to top

Cancer of the sinuses

Cancer of the salivary glands

Cancer of the middle ear