[Head and neck cancer: choice of treatment in relation to clinical and pathological findings].

There are several organs in the head and neck region, and cancers arising in this region show a variety of histological findings. Therefore, the first choice of treatment for head and neck cancer should be decided according to sites of origin, clinical staging and pathological findings. Furthermore, the head and neck region plays very important roles in speaking, eating, and esthetic functions. The principles of treatment for head and neck cancer are as follows. As regards carcinoma of the larynx and oral cavity, radiotherapy is usually adopted when the carcinoma is small and limited, and surgical treatment is recommended in cases of rather advanced carcinoma. In the treatment of carcinoma of the nasopharynx, radiotherapy is undoubtedly the first choice of treatment and chemotherapy is combined in advanced cases. In the case of carcinoma of the methopharynx, surgical treatment is advisable for well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and radiotherapy for poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. For carcinoma of the hypopharynx, surgical treatment is advisable except for T1 cases of the pyriform sinus. Combination of radiotherapy, arterial chemotherapy and limited surgery is generally accepted as the method of treatment for maxillary sinus carcinoma.