| Mouth, nose & throat cancers | Diagnosing mouth, nose & throat cancer | Treatment for mouth, nose & throat cancer |
| Deciding on treatment | Recovery & follow-up care |
This information has been reviewed by:
Stephen Kleid (MB,BS FRACS); Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgical Oncology
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre & Western Hospital
Jacqui Frowen (B.SpPath. Hons), Speech Pathologist, La Trobe University
Use the links above or text below to learn more about cancers of the mouth, nose and throat, or download a pdf of our latest cancers of the mouth, nose and throat booklet.
Cancers of the mouth, nose and throat
Causes of mouth, nose and throat cancers
How common are cancers of the mouth, nose and throat?
The mouth, nose and throat are the parts of the head and neck involved in breathing, speaking, eating and swallowing.
The roof of the mouth is formed by the hard palate, which is bone, and behind it, the soft palate, made of muscle. Above the palate and behind each nostril are the two nasal cavities. These are separated by bone. At the back is an area called the nasopharynx, which opens into the throat (pharynx). Air goes this way when we breathe.
Looking into the mouth, we can see only the front part of the tongue. It sits within the jawbone and continues out of sight down the throat, so that the back of the tongue forms the front wall of the throat. The tongue is almost all muscle. The throat is muscle too. It is a tube that runs from the back of the nasal cavities to half way down the neck, where it branches. The back branch is the food pipe (oesophagus), the narrow but elastic tube that carries food to the stomach. The front branch is the airway that goes to the lungs. At the top of the airway is the voice box (larynx). This opens onto the windpipe (trachea).
All these parts are important for eating. The tongue moves food around the mouth as we chew, then collects it together into a soft ball and moves this back into the throat to trigger a swallow. The soft palate lifts to close off the nasal cavities and stop food going upwards, out of the nose. The throat then squeezes the food down to the food pipe. The top of the food pipe relaxes to let the food in and the muscular wall of the food pipe continues to squeeze the food downwards. At the same time, to stop the food going the wrong way, the voice box acts as a valve to close off the airway. The valve is formed by two folds of skin (the vocal cords) coming together.
These parts also play an important role in speech. As we breathe out, air pushes up beneath the vocal cords and causes them to vibrate, producing the sound we know as voice. The voice resonates in the throat and the nasal cavities, like sound in a concert hall, and the tongue and lips shape it into the sounds of speech.
The thyroid gland and the salivary glands are also in this area. The thyroid gland is U-shaped, with its two lobes wrapped either side of the windpipe, just below the voice box. The salivary glands, which release saliva into the mouth, are mainly clustered in the floor of the mouth under the tongue, on the side of the face just in front of the ear, and under the jawbone.
Any part of the mouth, nose or throat may be affected by cancer. A cancer may start in:
The type of cancer most common in the mouth, nose and throat is called a squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinomas most often occur on the lip, the tongue, the floor of the mouth under the tongue or the area at the back of the mouth: the tonsils, soft palate or base of the tongue, or the voice box.
As the cancer develops, the cancer cells increase in number and spread into surrounding tissues (including muscle and bone) and/or to the lymph nodes in the neck. From there it may spread to other parts of the body, although cancers of the mouth, nose and throat are generally slow to do this.
The exact causes of cancers of the mouth, nose and throat are not known. However, we do know that smoking and alcohol are important risk factors. More than 80% of these cancers occur in people who smoke cigarettes, cigars or pipes. Heavy drinkers are also at increased risk. People who drink heavily and smoke are at greater risk again.
A few people who have never used tobacco or alcohol develop these cancers, indicating that other factors are also important.
Cancer of the lip can be caused by the ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Pipe smokers are also especially prone to cancer of the lip.
Cancers of the nose can be linked to inhaling certain chemicals and hardwood dusts, usually in the workplace.
Each year, more than 600 people in Victoria are diagnosed with a cancer in the mouth, nose and throat area. These cancers are more common in men and in people over 50 years of age.
Download |
Size |
Format |
|
Cancers of the mouth, nose and throat A guide for people with cancer, their families and friends. |
2183 Kb |
 PDF
|
