Epidemiology and treatment of head and neck malignancies in the AYA generation

The Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) population refers to the population of young adults and adolescents in the 15-39 years age group. This population subgroup experiences various important life events. Head and neck malignancies are rare tumors, in general, but they are extremely rare in the AYA population. When analyzed by the primary site of the tumors, thyroid gland, soft tissue, and nasopharyngeal malignancies are the most commonly encountered head and neck malignancies in the AYA generation. The most common histopathologic subtypes are carcinomas (thyroid carcinoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma) and rhabdomyosarcoma. Therefore, in this review, the author discusses these three diseases in the AYA population in detail. Especially, patients with parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma are at a high risk of dysfunction and facial deformity. Infertility problems may also occur as long-term sequelae of chemotherapy in this population. Radiation therapy might be associated with considerable morbidity. Complications such as cataract, xerostomia, hearing loss, neck fibrosis, and trismus are also common. Head and neck surgeons and medical oncologists should choose the optimal treatment taking into account the curability of the tumors relative to the long-term adverse events of treatment use. Finally, little evidence has been accumulated on head and neck malignancies in the AYA population, and it is urgently necessary to build a high level of evidence for the future.