Pharyngeal Cancer Information

What Is Pharyngeal Cancer?

Pharyngeal cancer is one of the most common types of throat cancer. An estimated 14,000 people are diagnosed with cancer of the pharynx each in the United States.

The pharynx, also called the throat, is a hollow tube that starts behind the nose and ends at the top of the esophagus. Pharyngeal cancer can form in any of the following three parts of the pharynx:

• Nasopharynx: Located behind the nose and the back of the throat.
• Oropharynx: Located behind the mouth, including the base of the tongue, the soft palate and the area around the tonsils.
• Hypopharynx: The bottom part of the throat.

Types of Pharyngeal Cancer 

Pharyngeal cancer is a form of head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancers include cancer of the throat, mouth, tonsils, nose, sinuses, salivary glands and neck lymph nodes.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of pharyngeal cancer. It develops in the thin, flat cells that line the throat.

Other types of pharyngeal cancer include lymphoepithelioma, spindle cell carcinoma, verrucous cancer, undifferentiated carcinoma and cancers of the lymph nodes, called lymphoma

Next Topic: Pharyngeal Cancer Risk Factors