Cancer is a disease in which cells of the body grow out of control. Cancers of the head and neck include cancers that start in several places in the head and throat, not including brain cancers or cancers of the eye.

These cancers can start—

• In the sinuses (the spaces around the nose on the inside of the skull).
• Inside and behind the nose.
• In the mouth, including the tongue, the gums, and the roof of the mouth.
• In the back of the mouth and the throat (pharynx), which includes three sections called the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx.
• In the larynx (voice box).
• On the lips, although cancer on the lips is a type of skin cancer.
• In the glands that make saliva for the mouth, but those are relatively rare.