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Symptoms of head and neck cancers

In the early stages, head and neck cancers may have no symptoms. Many of the symptoms of head and neck cancers are common for other illnesses, so they don’t necessarily mean you have cancer – only tests can confirm the diagnosis.

If you are concerned about any of these symptoms, see your general practitioner (GP) without delay. For oral cancers, your dentist may also be able to give you advice and refer you to a specialist.

Learn more about the symptoms of head and neck cancers below.

	Mouth (oral) cancers mouth pain pain when swallowing a persistent sore or swelling in the mouth, or the area not healing after having a tooth extracted a sore throat that doesn’t get better unusual bleeding or numbness in the mouth red or white patches on the gums, tongue or mouth bad breath changes in speech or trouble pronouncing words difficulty chewing or swallowing food or moving the tongue weight loss loose teeth, or dentures that no longer fit earache a lump in the neck
	Throat (pharyngeal) cancers a lump in the neck a persistent sore throat or cough difficulty swallowing or opening the mouth wide pain when swallowing coughing up bloody mucus bad breath weight loss voice changes or hoarseness dull pain around the neck earache feeling that your air supply is blocked numb face a blocked nose hearing loss headache
	Voice box (laryngeal) cancers a persistent change in the sound of your voice, including hoarseness a sore throat that doesn’t get better difficulty swallowing or pain when swallowing coughing all the time difficulty breathing weight loss pain in the ear a lump in the neck
	Nose (nasal cavity or sinus) cancers reduced sense of smell a persistent blocked nose or ear frequent nosebleeds lots of mucus in the throat or the back of the nose frequent headaches or sinus pressure difficulty swallowing loose or painful upper teeth a lump on the face or in the nose or mouth numb face, upper lip or inside mouth pressure or pain in ears a bulging or watery eye double vision or complete or partial loss of eyesight a lump in the neck
	Salivary gland cancer swelling lump near the ear, jaw or lip, or inside the mouth left and right sides of the face or neck looking different drooping, numbness or muscle weakness on one side of the face (palsy)

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This information was last reviewed in February 2024. View who reviewed this content.

A/Prof Martin Batstone, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and Director of the Maxillofacial Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Polly Baldwin, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Martin Boyle, Consumer; Dr Teresa Brown, Assistant Director Dietetics, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Honorary Associate Professor, University of Queensland, QLD; Dr Hayley Dixon, Head, Clinical Support Dentistry Department, WSLHD Oral Health Services, Public Health Dentistry Specialist, NSW; Head and Neck Cancer Care Nursing Team, Royal Melbourne Hospital, VIC; Rhys Hughes, Senior Speech Pathologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Dr Annette Lim, Medical Oncologist and Clinician Researcher – Head and Neck and Non-melanoma Skin Cancer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Dr Sweet Ping Ng, Radiation Oncologist, Austin Health, VIC; Deb Pickersgill, Senior Clinical Exercise Physiologist, Queensland Sports Medicine Centre, QLD; John Spurr, Consumer; Kate Woodhead, Physiotherapist, St Vincent’s Health, Melbourne, VIC; A/Prof Sue-Ching Yeoh, Oral Medicine Specialist, University of Sydney, Sydney Oral Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW.

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