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Head & Neck Squamous Cell Cancer

Head and neck cancers occur in the nose, mouth, throat and neck. Most of these cancers involve squamous cells, scaly surface cells on mucus membranes lining the mouth, throat and nose. Other head and neck cancers arising in glandular cells are called adenocarcinomas. According to cancer.net, head and neck cancers represent 3 to 5 percent of all cancers in the U.S., are more common in men and are responsible for about 11,000 deaths annually.

  1. Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer Sites

    • Cancer of the mouth involves lips, tongue, gums, cheeks, under the tongue, roof of the mouth, behind the wisdom teeth and salivary glands. Cancers are found inside the nose and paranasal sinuses, hollow spaces in the bones around the nose. Throat cancer occurs in the pharynx, the tube behind the nose that leads to the esophagus and the trachea, and the larynx, or voice box. Neck cancers involve lymph nodes.

    Risk Factors

    • The biggest risk factors for head and neck squamous cell cancer are alcohol, smoking tobacco and snuff use. According to the National Cancer Institute, 85 percent of all head and neck cancers are related to tobacco use. Other risk factors include sun exposure, human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, head and neck radiation, poor oral hygiene, certain nutritional deficiencies and dust, asbestos or metal particle inhalation.

    Symptoms

    • Common symptoms include white or red patches on gums, tongue or mouth, unusual bleeding from mouth or nose, jaw swelling that affects the fit of dentures, blocked or chronically infected nasal sinuses, frequent headaches, upper teeth pain, paralysis or numbness of face muscles, swelling around the eyes or jaw, pain when swallowing and persistent mouth, face, chin, neck, ear, throat or jaw pain.

    Diagnosis

    • Diagnosis begins with a physical examination of your head and neck and blood, urine and other laboratory tests. You may have an endoscopy, where a thin tube is inserted through your mouth or nose to view your larynx, esophagus, pharynx or inside the nose. You may be scheduled for imaging studies, including X-rays and computed tomography or CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Your doctor may perform a biopsy, removing a small amount of tissue for study. A biopsy is the only way to determine if the tissue is cancerous.

    Treatment

    • Treatment depends on the location of the cancer, its stage and the person's age and state of health. The treatment plan can include surgery to remove the tumor, external radiation or internal radiation--where radioactive materials are placed in the tumor itself--and chemotherapy.

    Prognosis

    • About 82 percent of patients can expect to survive at least five years, if head and neck squamous cell cancers are detected early. If the cancer is not detected until it has advanced, survival at five years is 27 percent. Head and neck cancers recur in 40 percent of long-term survivors.

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