Malignant tumors of the pharynx

Background. Malignant tumors of the head and neck region are amongst the si x most often occurring tumors of the body. They can be associated with the different anatomical compartments as well as different histologic types,The way of tumor spread of these malignancies depends on their histologic type and on the region. These compartments can be separated into the nasopharyn x,the oropharynx, and the hypopharynx. Most of the malignant tumors belong to the squamous cell carcinomas, other histologic types are depicted less f requently. The histologic types of the other groups which are seen more oft en comprise of lymphomas and adenoid-cystic carcinomas. The undifferentiate d carcinoma of the nasopharynx is supposed to be a special type of tumor. T he malignant tumors of the pharynx can also involve all three compartments. Beside these tumors, malignancies of mesenchymal origin can also be deline ated. Imaging modalities. The imaging modalities most frequently used to detect t hese tumors and to clarify their extension are contrast enhanced computed t omography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclearmedicine imaging modalities s uch as positron emission tomography. Other scintigraphic imaging methods pl aya less important role. Conclusion. The different imaging modalities of ma lignant pharyngeal tumors and of potentially infiltrated lymphnodes with th e weightness on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging and thei r appearance in these imaging techniques shall be enhanced in this paper.