What is head and neck cancer?

Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth and throat, nose and sinuses (air spaces in the bones of the face), salivary glands and ears.

They are sometimes referred to according to the type of cell they start in. Most head and neck cancers are ‘squamous cell cancers’ – these are types of skin cancer. These start in the cells lining the mouth, nose and throat.

You may be informed by your doctor that you have cancer in your lymph nodes. Cancer of the head and neck can sometimes spread to nearby lymph nodes. You can find out more about lymph node cancer on our information page.

In this section, you can read about the different types of cancer we treat.