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Cancers of the mouth, nose and throat

Any part of the mouth, nose or throat may be affected by cancer. A cancer may start in:

• the squamous epithelium: cells that form the lining of the mouth, nose, throat or voice box
• the salivary glands or the thyroid gland.

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.

MORE INFORMATION from CCV