Cancers that are known collectively as head and neck cancers usually begin in the squamous cells that line the mucosal surfaces of the head and neck (for example, those inside the mouth, throat, and voice box). These cancers are referred to as squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. Head and neck cancers can also begin in the salivary glands, sinuses, or muscles or nerves in the head and neck, but these types of cancer are much less common than squamous cell carcinomas.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
- Unusual red or white patch in mouth that does not heal
- Unusual bleeding or pain in mouth
- Pain or foreign body sensation when swallowing
- Trouble breathing or sleeping
- Swelling under the chin or around the jawbone, numbness or paralysis of the muscles in the face, or pain in the face, the chin, or the neck that does not go away.
- Lymph node swellings in neck
WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS?
Smoking, Alcohol, Tobacco chewing, Pan and Betel nut chewing
EVALUATION:
- Biopsy of the lesion
- CT-MRI of the neck
- CT Thorax
WHAT NEXT?
- Surgery is the mainstay of treatment in all operable cases followed by adjuvant radiation.
- Laryngeal cancers are treated with definitive chemoradiation along with voice preservation in early cases.
- Head and neck cancers may need reconstructive surgery in locally advanced cases in the form of free flaps or local pedicle.
