What is laryngeal cancer?

Laryngeal cancer is when abnormal cells in the larynx (voice box) start to grow and divide in an uncontrolled way. It is a type of head and neck cancer.

What is the larynx?

The larynx, which includes your vocal cords, is another name for the voice box. It’s a tube about 2 inches (5cm) long in adults. It sits above the windpipe (trachea) in the neck and in front of the food pipe (oesophagus).

The larynx:

• prevents food from entering your windpipe during swallowing

• allows the air you breathe to pass in and out of the lungs

• produces sound for speaking

The larynx is the place in your body where the breathing and digestive systems separate. When you breathe in, before the air reaches your lungs it flows through:

• your nose or mouth or both
• the larynx
• the windpipe

When you swallow, your vocal cords close and a part of the larynx called the epiglottis closes tightly over your airway. This flap of cartilage stops food and saliva from going into your lungs when you swallow. Swallowing allows the food into the food pipe and into your stomach.

The vocal cords are two flexible bands of muscle that are attached at the front. On speaking or breathing the vocal cords move together and apart. They protect the airway when they come together and allow air to pass freely when they are apart.

Different sizes in the gap between the vocal cords give different sounds which can be used by your mouth, tongue and lips to make your voice.

Parts of the larynx

The larynx is made of several pieces of smooth tissue called cartilage. The cartilage is surrounded by fibrous tissue (ligaments). The largest cartilage of the larynx is the thyroid cartilage, which forms the Adam’s apple. This is the lump in the front of your neck. The proper name for this is the thyroid cartilage.

There are 3 main parts to the larynx. These parts are the:

• supraglottis - the area above the vocal cords that contains the epiglottis cartilage

• glottis - the area of the vocal cords

• subglottis - the part below the vocal cords, containing the cricoid cartilage that continues down into the windpipe

 Cancer can develop in any or all of these parts of the larynx.

The hypopharynx

The hypopharynx is at the lower end of the throat (pharynx). It is the part of the throat that sits immediately behind the larynx. It connects the mouth and back of the nose to the windpipe and food pipe. There are 3 parts to the hypopharynx. These are the:

• right and left piriform sinuses

• posterior pharyngeal wall

• postcricoid region

Cancers can occur in any part of the hypopharynx.

The symptoms may be like the symptoms of laryngeal cancer. And the treatment is also often the same which is why we have included the information here.

The lymph nodes

There are lots of lymph nodes throughout the body but there are particularly more in the neck area. These are also called lymph glands. Normal lymph nodes are small and round or bean shaped glands, which are less than 1cm long. 

They are part of the lymphatic system which runs throughout the body. The lymphatic system is filled with fluid called lymphatic fluid.

The lymph glands help to control infection. They filter anything foreign to the body out in the lymphatic fluid. This includes bacteria and viruses.

When anything foreign enters the body, a normal immune response causes the lymph node to increase in size and become hot, red and tender.

The lymph nodes are often the first place that cancer cells reach when they break away from a tumour. So surgeons often remove them and examine them closely to see if they contain any cancer cells. They use this information to stage the cancer and make treatment decisions. 

How common is laryngeal cancer?

Around 2,300 people are diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in the UK each year.

Who gets laryngeal cancer?

Laryngeal cancer is more common in men than in women, and is more common in older people than in younger people.