Head & Neck Cancer Diagnosis

It is important for head and neck cancer to be diagnosed as early and accurately as possible. This increases the chance for a successful treatment while maintaining your quality of life, including the ability to hear, speak and swallow. 

The experts at MD Anderson are among the most skilled and experienced in the world in diagnosing the different types of head and neck cancer. This high level of expertise, combined with advanced diagnostic tools, allow them to accurately diagnose each cancer type and subtype. Doctors use this information to develop the best possible personalized treatment plans. 

Head & Neck cancer diagnostic tests 

If you have symptoms that may signal head and neck cancer, your doctor will examine you and ask you questions about your health and lifestyle, including smoking and drinking habits and family medical history. 

You may then undergo diagnostic tests. These tests can be used to identify cancer and find out if it has spread. During care, some tests can monitor how you are responding to treatment. 

One or more of the following tests may be used to diagnose head and neck cancer: 

Physical exam: Doctors will examine the area where cancer is suspected. They may use special tools or techniques to examine areas that are hard to reach. These include: 

• Indirect laryngoscopy: Your health care provider holds a small mirror at the back of the throat and shines a light on the mirror to view the throat area. A medicine to numb the back of your throat may be used.
• Fiberoptic laryngoscopy: Also called a nasolaryngoscopy, this exam uses a small flexible telescope to examine the throat. The device is passed through the nose and into the throat. This is the most common way to examine the pharynx and larynx, or voice box. Numbing medicine will be sprayed in the nose. This procedure typically takes less than 1 minute. 

Biopsy: During a biopsy, a small tissue sample is removed and examined under a microscope for the presence of cancer cells. Depending on tumor location, some biopsies can be performed with just a needle and local anesthesia. Other times patients must have a surgical biopsy under general anesthesia.  

Imaging exams: Imaging exams allow doctors to look inside the body without surgery. Several types of imaging exams can be used to diagnose and monitor head and neck cancer, including:  

• CT scan: A CT scan uses an X-ray machine to take several pictures from different angles, providing a highly detailed image. 
• MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, uses magnetic fields and radio waves to generate pictures of the body’s soft tissue and organs.  
• Ultrasound: Ultrasound operates with high-energy sound waves that bounce off internal tissues and organs and produce echo patterns. The echo patterns create a picture referred to as a sonogram, which can be seen on an ultrasound machine. 
• PET scan: During a positron emission tomography scan, or PET scan, a small dose of radioactive sugar is injected into a patient. A scanner shows where the body distributes the sugar, allowing for the creation of an image. This image can help radiologists find cancer cells in the body. 
• X-Ray: X-rays use low doses of high-energy radiation that travel through the body to create an image. X-rays are used to image bones and can also help spot tumors. 

Learn more about imaging exams.

Blood and urine tests: Blood and urine tests can check the patient’s hormone levels, which can be impacted by head and neck tumors like thyroid cancer and parathyroid disease. Blood and urine tests can also monitor how the cancer is responding to treatment and monitor side effects of those treatments. 

Functional tests: Head and neck cancer can impact the throat, eyes and ears. Patients with a suspected cancer in one of these areas may be tested on their vision, hearing, swallowing and/or balance. 

Molecular diagnosis: Different cancers have different features on the molecular level. Molecular testing identifies the features that impact treatment, helping doctors create the most effective treatment plan.  

Genetic testing: Some cancers are caused by genetic conditions that can be passed down from parent to child. Genetic testing identifies patients with these conditions. 

Learn more about the diagnostic tests for: 

• Eye cancer
• Oral Cancer
• Parathyroid disease
• Pituitary tumors
• Retinoblastoma
• Salivary gland cancer 
• Skull base tumors
• Throat cancer
• Thyroid cancer

Some cases of head and neck cancer can be passed down from one generation to the next. Genetic counseling may be right for you. Learn more about the risk to you and your family on our genetic testing page.