Health Topic

Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer includes cancers of the mouth, nose, sinuses, salivary glands, throat, and lymph nodes. Read the different symptoms of each type.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer is the name for cancers that develop in the mouth, nose and sinuses, salivary glands, and throat and voice box (larynx). Most head and neck cancers are squamous cell cancers. They begin in the moist tissues that line the head and neck. The cancer cells may spread into deeper tissue as the cancer grows.

There are other cancers that develop in the head and neck, such as brain cancer, eye cancer, and esophageal cancer. But they are usually not considered to be head and neck cancers, because those types of cancer and their treatments are different.

Anyone can get head and neck cancer, but you are more likely to develop it if you:

  • Use tobacco or drink lots of alcohol. Your risk of developing head and neck cancer is even higher if you do both.
  • Are male.
  • Are over age 50.
  • Have a history of head or neck cancer.
  • Have HPV (for cancers in the tonsils and base of the tongue).
  • Are exposed to wood dusts or certain other toxic substances at work (for upper throat, nose, and sinus cancers).
  • Have had radiation exposure to the head and neck (for salivary gland cancer).
  • Have Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection (for upper throat and salivary gland cancers).
  • Are Asian (for upper throat cancer).

The symptoms of head and neck cancer may include:

  • A lump in the neck
  • A sore in the mouth or the throat that does not heal and may be painful
  • A sore throat that does not go away
  • Trouble swallowing
  • A change or hoarseness in the voice

Other possible symptoms can depend on the specific type of head and neck cancer.

Which exams and tests used to diagnose head and neck cancer can depend on the specific type of cancer. Possible exams and tests may include:

  • A physical exam of the area that might have cancer.
  • Blood and/or urine tests.
  • An endoscopy.
  • A biopsy or other procedure to collect cells from the area that might have cancer. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal.
  • Imaging tests.

The treatment for head and neck cancer will depend on the specific type of cancer, the stage (how advanced the cancer is), your overall health, and other factors. The treatment options might include:

  • Surgery
  • Radiation therapy
  • Chemotherapy
  • Cancer immunotherapy
  • Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that mainly attack specific cancer cells and cause less harm to normal cells

In some cases, you may need a combination of treatments. Sometimes surgery can affect how well you can chew, swallow, or talk. Rehabilitation, such as physical therapy, dietary counseling, and speech therapy, may help.

There are steps you can take to help prevent head and neck cancer:

  • Not smoking
  • Limiting alcohol use or not drinking at all
  • Getting regular dental exams
  • Talking to your provider about HPV vaccination

It sits within Cancers, Lungs and Breathing, Ear, Nose and Throat and Mouth and Teeth.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Cancer Institute.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Head and Neck Cancer

8,618 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Related Issues

Genetics

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Head and Neck Neoplasms. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Head and Neck Cancer, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.