If laryngeal cancer spreads

Cancer cells can spread from the larynx to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.

Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your healthcare team plan your treatment and future care. If laryngeal cancer spreads, it can spread to the following:

  • throughout the larynx
  • soft tissues of the neck
  • thyroid and cricoid cartilage
  • thyroid gland
  • along the vocal cords
  • base of the tongue
  • pharynx
  • windpipe (trachea)
  • tongue muscles and neck muscles
  • the space between the lungs (mediastinum)
  • esophagus
  • lymph nodes in the neck
  • lung
  • liver
  • bone

Expert review and references

  • American Cancer Society. Laryngeal and Hypopharyngeal Cancers. 2014: https://www.cancer.org/.
  • Mendenhall WM, Werning JW . Cancer of the larynx: General principles and management. Harrison LB, Sessions RB, Kies MS (eds.). Head and Neck Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Approach. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2014: 18a: 441-458.
  • Mendenhall WM, Werning JW, Pfister DG . Cancer of the head and neck. DeVita VT Jr, Lawrence TS, & Rosenberg SA. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015: 38: 422-473.