The most common noncutaneous tumor of the head and neck is squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx, followed by squamous cell carcinomas of the tongue, palatine tonsil, and floor of the mouth. Less common are tumors of the salivary glands, jaw, nose and paranasal sinuses, and ear. Tumors of the thyroid gland, eye, and skin are discussed elsewhere in The Manual.

Excluding the skin and thyroid gland, > 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinomas, and 5% are melanomas, lymphomas, and sarcomas. Patients with sarcomas or carcinomas of the salivary glands or paranasal sinuses are often younger than patients with squamous cell carcinoma, who are more commonly in their mid-50s and older.

Etiology

The vast majority of patients, 85% or more, with cancer of the head and neck have a history of alcohol use, smoking, or both. Other suspected causes include use of snuff or chewing tobacco, sunlight exposure, previous x-rays of the head and neck, certain viral infections, ill-fitting dental appliances, chronic candidiasis, and poor oral hygiene. In India, oral cancer is extremely common, probably because of chewing betel quid (a mixture of substances, also called paan). Long-term exposure to sunlight and the use of tobacco products are the primary causes of squamous cell carcinoma of the lower lip.

Patients who in the past were treated with radiation for acne, excess facial hair, enlarged thymus, or hypertrophic tonsils and adenoids are predisposed to thyroid and salivary gland cancers and benign salivary tumors.

Epstein-Barr virus plays a role in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal cancer, and serum measures of certain Epstein-Barr virus proteins may be biomarkers of recurrence. Human papillomavirus seems to be associated with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, particularly oropharyngeal cancer. The mechanism for viral-mediated tumor genesis may be distinct from tobacco-related pathways and seem to have a different, better, prognosis.

Symptoms and Signs

Most head and neck cancers first manifest as an asymptomatic neck mass, painful mucosal ulceration, or visible mucosal lesion (eg, leukoplakia, erythroplakia). Subsequent symptoms depend on location and extent of the tumor and include pain, paresthesia, nerve palsies, trismus, and halitosis. Otalgia is an often overlooked symptom usually representing referred pain from the primary tumor. Weight loss caused by perturbed eating and odynophagia is also common.

Diagnosis

• Clinical evaluation
• Biopsy
• Imaging tests and endoscopy to evaluate extent of disease

Routine physical examination (including a thorough oral examination) is the best way to detect cancers early before they become symptomatic. Commercially available brush biopsy kits help screen for oral cancers. Any head and neck symptom (eg, sore throat, hoarseness, otalgia) lasting > 2 to 3 wk should prompt referral to a head and neck specialist.

Definitive diagnosis usually requires a biopsy. Additional important information is obtained from a combination of imaging tests (eg, CT, MRI, PET/CT), endoscopy, and fine-needle aspiration of any neck mass.

Staging

Head and neck cancers may remain localized for months to years. Local tissue invasion eventually is followed by metastasis to regional lymph nodes, related in large part to tumor size and extent, and reduces overall survival by nearly half. Distant metastases tend to occur late, usually in patients with advanced tumor and nodal stages. Metastases occur more commonly among immunocompromised patients. Common sites of distant metastases are the lungs, liver, bone, and brain.

Head and neck cancers are staged (see Table 1: Tumors of the Head and Neck: Staging of Head and Neck Cancer) according to size and site of the primary tumor (T), number and size of metastases to the cervical lymph nodes (N), and evidence of distant metastases (M). Staging usually requires imaging with CT, MRI, or both, and often PET.

Table 1
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Staging of Head and Neck Cancer Stage Tumor (Maximum Penetration) Regional Lymph Node Metastasis Distant Metastasis I T1 N0 M0 II T2 N0 M0 III T3 or N0 M0 T1–3 N1 M0 IVA T1–3 N2 M0 T4a N0–2 M0 IVB T4b Any N M0 Any T N3 M0 Any T Any N M1 IVC TNM classification: T1 ≤ 2 cm in greatest dimension; T2 = 2–4 cm or affects 2 areas within a specific site; T3 > 4 cm or affects 3 areas within a specific site; T4 = invades specific structures (4a is resectable and 4b is unresectable). N0 = none; N1 = one node ≤ 3 cm; N2 = node between 3 and 6 cm or multiple nodes; N3 = node > 6 cm. M0 = none; M1 = present.

Prognosis

Prognosis is favorable if diagnosis is early and treatment is timely and appropriate. In general, the more poorly differentiated the cancer, the greater the chance of regional and distant metastases. The presence of regional nodal spread reduces overall survival by nearly half. Distant metastasis greatly reduces survival, having only rare cures. Local invasion, a criterion for advanced T stage, with invasion of muscle, bone, or cartilage, also significantly decreases cure rate. Perineural spread, as evidenced by pain, paralysis, or numbness, indicates a highly aggressive tumor, is associated with nodal metastasis, and has a less favorable prognosis than a similar lesion without perineural invasion.

With appropriate treatment, 5-yr survival can be as high as 90% for stage I, 75 to 80% for stage II, 45 to 75% for stage III, and up to 40% for stage IV. The survival rates vary greatly depending on the primary site. Stage I laryngeal cancers have an excellent survival rate when compared to other sites.

Treatment

• Surgery, radiation therapy, or both
• Sometimes chemotherapy

Many stage I tumors, regardless of location, respond similarly to surgery and to radiation therapy, allowing other factors (eg, patient preference) to determine choice of therapy. Thus, the treating physician should carefully review risks and benefits with the patient. However, at certain locations, there is clear superiority of one modality over another. For example, surgery is the better treatment for early-stage disease involving the oral cavity. In select head and neck cancers, endoscopic surgery has cure rates similar to those of open surgery or radiation, and morbidity is significantly less. However, many physicians still recommend radiation for early-stage laryngeal cancer.

If radiation therapy is chosen for primary therapy, it is delivered to the primary site and sometimes bilaterally to the cervical lymph nodes. The treatment of lymphatics, whether by radiation or surgery, is determined by the primary site, histologic criteria, and risk of nodal disease.

Advanced-stage disease (stages III and IV) often requires multimodality treatment, incorporating some combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Bone or cartilage invasion requires surgical resection of the primary site and usually regional lymph nodes because of the high risk of nodal spread. If the primary site is treated surgically, then postoperative radiation to the cervical lymph nodes is delivered if there are high-risk features, such as multiple lymph nodes with cancer or extracapsular extension. Postoperative radiation usually is preferred over preoperative radiation, because radiated tissues heal poorly. Recent studies have shown that adding chemotherapy to adjuvant radiation therapy to the neck improves regional control of the cancer and improves survival. There are significant risks to this approach, so the decision to add chemotherapy should be carefully considered.

Advanced squamous cell carcinoma without bony invasion often is treated with concomitant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Although advocated as organ-sparing, combining chemotherapy with radiation therapy doubles the rate of acute toxicities, particularly severe dysphagia. Radiation may be used alone for debilitated patients with advanced disease who cannot tolerate the sequelae of chemotherapy and are too high a risk for general anesthesia.

Primary chemotherapy is reserved for chemosensitive tumors, such as Burkitt's lymphoma, or for patients who have widespread metastases (eg, hepatic or pulmonary involvement). Several drugs—cisplatinSome Trade Names
PLATINOL
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, fluorouracilSome Trade Names
ADRUCIL
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, bleomycinSome Trade Names
BLENOXANE
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, and methotrexateSome Trade Names
RHEUMATREX
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—provide palliation for pain and shrink the tumor in patients who cannot be treated with other methods. Response may be good initially but is not durable, and the cancer will return.

Tumor recurrence: Managing recurrent tumors after therapy is complex and has potential complications. A palpable mass or ulcerated lesion with edema or pain at the primary site after therapy strongly suggests a persistent tumor. Such patients require CT (with thin cuts) or MRI. For local recurrence after surgical treatment, all scar planes and reconstructive flaps are excised along with residual cancer. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or both may be done but have limited effectiveness. Patients with recurrence after radiation therapy should not receive additional radiation and are best treated with surgery.

Symptom control: Pain is a common symptom in patients with head and neck cancer and must be adequately addressed. Palliative surgery or radiation may temporarily alleviate pain, and in 30 to 50% of patients, chemotherapy can produce improvement that lasts a mean of 3 mo. A stepwise approach to pain management, as recommended by the WHO, is critical to controlling pain. Severe pain is best managed in association with a pain and palliative care specialist.

Pain, difficulty eating, choking on secretions, and other problems make adequate symptomatic treatment essential. Patient directives regarding such care should be clarified early (see Medicolegal Issues: Advance Directives).

Adverse effects of treatment: All cancer treatments have potential complications and expected sequelae. Because many treatments have similar cure rates, the choice of modality is based largely on real, or perceived, differences in sequelae.

Although it is commonly thought that surgery requires rehabilitation for swallowing and speaking, many procedures do not require such rehabilitation. Increasingly complex reconstructive procedures and techniques, including prostheses, grafts, regional pedicle flaps, and complex free flaps, can restore function and appearance often to near normal.

Toxic effects of chemotherapy include malaise, severe nausea and vomiting, mucositis, transient hair loss, gastroenteritis, hematopoietic and immune suppression, and infection.

Therapeutic radiation for head and neck cancers has several adverse effects. The function of any salivary gland within the beam is permanently destroyed by a dose of about 40 Gy, resulting in xerostomia, which markedly increases the risk of dental caries. Newer radiation techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy, can minimize or eliminate toxic doses to the parotid glands in certain patients. Radioprotectant drugs (eg, amifostine) also can help protect salivary function. In addition, the blood supply of bone, particularly in the mandible, is compromised by doses of > 60 Gy, and osteoradionecrosis may occur (see also Approach to the Dental Patient: Radiation therapy). In this condition, tooth extraction sites break down, sloughing bone and soft tissue. Therefore, any needed dental treatment, including scaling, fillings, and extractions, should be done before radiation therapy. Any teeth in poor condition that cannot be rehabilitated should be extracted. Radiation therapy may also cause oral mucositis and dermatitis in the overlying skin, which may result in dermal fibrosis. Loss of taste (ageusia) and impaired smell (dysosmia) often occur but are usually transient.

Prevention

Removing risk factors is critical, and all patients should cease tobacco use and limit alcohol consumption. Removing risk factors also helps prevent disease recurrence in those treated for cancer. A new primary cancer develops in about 5% of patients/yr (to a maximum risk of about 20%); risk is lower in those who stop.

Cancer of the lower lip may be prevented by sunscreen use and tobacco cessation. Because 60% of head and neck cancers are well advanced (stage III or IV) at the time of diagnosis, the most promising strategy for reducing morbidity and mortality is diligent routine examination of the oral cavity.

Last full review/revision July 2008 by Richard V. Smith, MD

Content last modified February 2012