After diagnosing a patient with hypopharyngeal cancer, a doctor will need to determine what type of cancer it is, the grade of the tumor, and the stage of the cancer. Doctors often establish a preliminary disease stage based on physical exam as well as findings on imaging that help to identify the spread of disease. In patients who undergo surgery, disease stage is determined based on pathology after surgery.
Type
The most common type of hypopharyngeal cancer is squamous cell carcinoma (95%). Squamous cell carcinoma is a cancer that starts from abnormal cells that line the hypopharynx. In more rare cases, other types of pathologic diagnoses are:
- Salivary gland cancers: There are minor salivary glands located under the lining of the throat. This is why cancers that we typically see in salivary glands can appear in this region and they include diagnoses such as mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and adenoid cystic carcinoma, to name a few. See Salivary Gland Cancer for more information.
- Lymphoma: The throat is lined with lymphoid cells. Some major sites of lymphoid tissue include the adenoids in the nasopharynx (part of the throat behind the nose) and tonsils in the oropharynx. This is why lymphoma might appear as a lump in the throat area.
- Mucosal melanoma: These cancers come from skin cells, known as melanocytes, that give skin its color. In rare cases, melanoma can be found in the lining of the oropharynx.
Less common types of hypopharyngeal cancer
- Sarcomas such as chondrosarcoma, liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma.
- Malignant fibrous histiocytoma.
- Peripheral Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET).
- Cancer spread from another site.
