Dr Johann Kluge explains the shift of clinical presentation of throat cancer. Throat cancer (oropharyngeal carcinoma) refers to cancers developing in a specific subset in the head and neck region (base of tongue (BOT) and tonsils). The most common type of cancer in this region is squamous cell carcinoma, although lymphoma is also encountered. Pre-1990 era vs. 2000-era During the past decades, the clinical presentation changed dramatically, with the ‘pre-1990 era’ being tobacco-related oropharyngeal cancers and the ‘2000-era’ and onwards regarded as human papillomavirus (HPV)-related. In the past two decades, HPV was identified as a direct cause of cancer…