Throat Cancer Center

What is Throat Cancer?

Throat cancer is considered a head and neck cancer.

Head and neck cancers are identified by the area in which they initially begin to grow. Most head and neck cancers begin in the cells that line the mucosal surfaces in the head and neck area (i.e., nasal cavity, sinuses, lips, mouth, salivary glands, throat, or voice box).

The throat is a ring-like muscular tube that acts as the passageway for air, food, and liquid, and also helps in forming speech. Throat cancer, also called pharyngeal cancer, forms in tissues of the pharynx. The pharynx is the upper part of the throat. It is the hollow tube inside the neck (about five inches long) that starts behind the nose and leads to the esophagus (the food pipe, or the tube that goes to the stomach) and the trachea (the windpipe, or the tube that goes to the lungs).

Types of Throat Cancer

Throat cancer can develop in any of the three regions of the pharynx:

• Cancer of the nasopharynx (nasopharyngeal cancer) develops in the hollow tube in the upper part of the throat that starts behind the nose and runs down the neck to the esophagus.
• Cancer of the oropharynx (oropharyngeal cancer) develops in the middle part of the throat, just behind the mouth, where the oral cavity stops. It includes the (back third) base of the tongue, the soft palate of the roof of the mouth, the small structures in the back of the throat called the tonsils (also called tonsil cancer), and the side and back wall of the throat (posterior pharyngeal wall).
• Cancer of the hypopharynx (hypopharyngeal cancer) develops in the bottom, or lower, part of the throat (down to the esophagus).

Most types of throat cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. Squamous cells are thin, flat cells that look like fish scales and are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of the hollow organs of the body, and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts.

Other types of head and neck cancers include:

• Cancer of the larynx (laryngeal cancer) forms in the voice box, which is located just below the pharynx in the neck, at the top of the windpipe (trachea). The larynx houses the vocal cords and is crucial to speech and breathing.
• Cancer of the oral cavity (oral cancer) forms in the mouth. The oral cavity and the pharynx assist with breathing, talking, eating, chewing, and swallowing. Minor salivary glands located throughout the oral cavity and pharynx make saliva that keeps the mouth moist and helps digest food.

Other head and neck cancers include minor salivary gland tumors (adenocarcinomas), nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancers, thyroid cancers, and lymphomas (i.e., cancer that spreads to the lymph nodes in the upper part of the neck).

According to the National Cancer Institute, head and neck cancers account for approximately three to five percent of all cancers in the United States. There were an estimated 11,800 new cases of pharyngeal cancer reported in the United States in 2007.  

Throat Cancer Treatment at CTCA

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with throat cancer, you are not alone. Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) can help. CTCA offers new options, hope and compassionate care.

Our cancer experts strive to fight cancer on all fronts. Here, you will receive a personalized, integrative treatment plan tailored to your needs. Your plan will include innovative throat cancer treatments, along with sophisticated complementary medicine therapies. Also, you will receive all of this care in one location. Our hospitals offer a compassionate environment designed to help you focus on healing.

At CTCA, we understand that you want to find a cancer facility that is right for you. We also understand that you need answers now. That is why our Oncology Information Specialists are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to discuss your situation and the throat cancer treatment options available at CTCA.

Call us today at 1-800-615-3055, or Chat Online, to find out if CTCA is right for you. No matter what your type or stage of throat cancer, we offer renewed hope and treatment options. At CTCA, we make your fight our fight. 

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