State-of-the-Art Diagnostic Studies for Diagnosing Head and Neck Cancers

Tumors, infections and other conditions that affect the skull, the neck, the mouth, the jawbone, the face or the glands of the neck can become quite serious before they are discovered.

At Cedars-Sinai, advanced technology allows doctors to create images of the inside of the body to accurately diagnose your condition.

Nearly all diagnostic tests can be put into four basic categories:

  • Tests that measure performance, such as your ability to exercise, heart rate, lung function or vision
  • Tests that take something out of the body to study, such as blood tests, urine tests or a tissue biopsy
  • Tests that look at the body using film or sound waves (X-rays or ultrasound), and
  • Tests that use hollow tubes and fiber optics to look inside the body (endoscopy)

The following are some of the diagnostic tests that are most often ordered to evaluate a head and neck disorder:


Some of these tests may have risks associated with them. You should discuss each test with your doctor when they are ordered