Edited by
Paul Q Montgomery
Peter H Rhys Evans
Patrick J Gullane

2009

On a worldwide scale head and neck malignancy represents the 5th most common cancer and nowhere in the field of human oncology are the effects of progression of
disease more readily apparent, more cosmetically deforming, and more functionally and psychologically disturbing than in this region. Unlike cancer at other sites in the body
it is not a disease of one organ but it includes a wide variety of tumors affecting not only the diversity of upper aerodigestive tract organs such as the tongue, pharynx, larynx, nose, and ear, but also other related structures including the thyroid, salivary glands, skull base, skin, and lymphatics of the head and neck.