Optimizing approaches to head and neck cancer. Metastatic head and neck cancer: new options.

In 2002 there were about 144 000 new cases of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) in Europe and 69 000 deaths, making it the seventh leading cause of cancer death [1]. HNSCC arise from the mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract. They include cancers of the oral cavitiy, the pharynx (naso-, oroand hypopharynx), the larynx and the paranasal sinuses. The head and neck region includes different tissues so that other kinds of neoplasms occur there, such as cancer of the salivary glands and rare histotypes of the paranasal sinuses and thyroid cancer. In this paper we will focus on HNSCC.