Advances in detection and diagnosis of head and neck tumors

Cancers of the head and neck are accessible to both inspection and palpation in the majority of patients. This accessibility allows for improvements in detection, through education of the medical profession and also of the allied health personnel. Some of the new advances in detection and diagnosis have been associated with development of new instruments. A new lens system developed by Hopkins allows a brighter endoscopic image and a significantly greater breadth of field. Needle aspiration biopsy techniques have also improved both in facility of performance and in accuracy of diagnosis. Asteriography aids in the detection of carotid body tumors. Selective parathormone studies have considerably improved the preoperative accuracy of evaluating parathyroid disease. Scans, both using ultrasound and a fluorescent iodine scan have also improved the preoperative evaluation of thyroid tumors. A challenge of detection is the realization that there is an increased risk of the development of thyroid cancer in childhood and in adults in those patients who received radiation therapy to the head and neck during infancy or childhood. A national campaign to alert potential individuals at risk should be a prime objective of the American Cancer Society.