About Head and Neck Cancer

What is Head and Neck Cancer?

Head and Neck Cancer is brutal. For many of the 5,300 people newly diagnosed each year it is a devastating disease, unlike any other. While survival rates are 71%, treatment for Head and Neck Cancer is widely acknowledged to be among the
toughest on patients often taking away basic abilities that many of us take for granted, like speaking, eating, breathing, swallowing, and can leave some people unable to smile or laugh. For others, it results in profound facial disfigurement with the removal of part of a person’s face that is impossible to conceal. Sadly, each year, more than 1,100 Australians lose their lives to Head and Neck Cancer.

Head and Neck Cancer includes a range of different cancers that are classified based on their location in the head or neck and the type of cancer cells.

Head and Neck Cancer often refers specifically to cancers that begin in the cells that line the moist mucosal surfaces including the mouth (oral cavity), nose and sinuses, throat (pharynx) and voice box (larynx).

• These cancers are usually squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and account for about 95% of cases.
• Mucosal head and neck cancers are diagnosed in approximately 3,500 Australians every year; representing 2–3% of all cancers.
• Mucosal head and neck cancer is nearly twice as common in men and often diagnosed in people over the age of 50.

Thyroid Cancers are more common that mucosal Head and Neck Cancers and occur in 2,400 Australians every year. They are more common in women and often occur at a younger age.

Skin Cancers of the head and neck are so common in Australia that we don’t even know how many occur. It is estimated that more than 500,000 Australians are treated every year for skin cancer. They are more common in men and become more common as you get older, mainly due to sun exposure.

Less commonly, head and neck cancers may occur in the salivary glands, and other tissues in the face, neck, eyes and ears.