Head & Neck Oncology Program

Hypopharyngeal Cancer

What is Hypopharyngeal Cancer?

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The hypopharynx is the bottom part of the pharynx (throat).The pharynx is a hollow tube about five inches long that starts behind the nose and goes down to the neck to become part of the esophagus (the tube that goes to the stomach). Air and food pass through the pharynx on the way to the windpipe (trachea) or the esophagus.

Cancer of the hypopharynx is a disease in which cancerous (malignant) cells are found in the tissues of the hypopharynx. Cancer of the hypopharynx most commonly starts in the cells that line the hypopharynx, called squamous cells, and is called squamous cell cancer. If cancer starts in the lymph cells of the hypopharynx, it is considered non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

This page was last updated on: May 14, 2009.