Overview of head and neck cancer
The term head and neck cancer in reality encompasses many different types of cancer. The behavior of a particular cancer of head and neck arises depends on where (the primary site). For example, cancers that begin in the vocal cords have a behavior very different from those faced in the back of the tongue, just an inch or less of the vocal cords. The most common type of cancer of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which appears in the cells that line the inside of the nose, mouth and throat. Other types of head and neck cancer are less common salivary gland tumors, lymphomas and sarcomas.
The cancer spreads in three main ways: The first is by direct extension from the primary site to adjacent areas. The second is spread through the lymphatic vessels to lymph nodes. The third is spread through blood vessels to distant sites in the body. In the head and neck cancers spread to the lymph nodes in the neck is relatively common.
The lymph nodes most commonly affected are found along major blood vessels beneath the sternocleidomastoid muscle on either side of the neck, especially the internal jugular ganglion at the angle of the jaw. The risk of spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream is highly dependent on whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the neck, how many nodes are involved, and what is its location in the neck. The risk is greater if there is cancer in lymph nodes in the lower neck in those who are at the top.