Pharyngeal Cancer Information
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What is Pharyngeal Cancer?
Cancer of the pharynx, more commonly known as the throat, is also called pharyngeal cancer. It can develop in any of the three regions of the pharynx:
- The nasopharynx: The area behind the nose and the back of the throat, which is the hollow tube at the upper part of the throat that starts behind the nose and runs down to the neck to become part of the esophagus (the tube that goes to the stomach).
- The oropharynx: Consisting of the base of tongue, the tonsillar region, soft palate, and back of the mouth.
- The hypopharynx: The bottom part of the throat.
Types of Pharyngeal Cancer
Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, or tumors that develop in the tissue lining the hollow organs of the body. Other tumor types include lymphoepithelioma, spindle cell carcinoma, verrucous cancer, undifferentiated carcinoma, and cancers of the lymph nodes, called lymphoma (most often widespread non-Hodgkin's lymphoma).
Understanding Pharyngeal Cancer
Excluding superficial skin cancers, but including cancer of the larynx and thyroid, it is conservatively estimated that about 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with head and neck cancer annually. That is about five percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States. There are more than 500,000 survivors of oral, head and neck cancers living in the United States today.
Factors known to contribute to the risk of developing head and neck cancers include smoking (both tobacco and marijuana) or chewing tobacco and alcohol use. Leukoplakia (white spots or patches in the mouth) also may be considered a risk factor, as this condition becomes cancerous in approximately one-third of patients.
Next Topic: Pharyngeal Cancer Risk Factors
