Throat cancer is the cancer
of the throat; it is a type of head and neck cancer. The throat (pharynx)
is a 5-inch-long tube that runs from your nose to your neck. The throat and the
voice box are the two main places throat cancer forms.
Managing Throat Cancer
• Find it, as
early as possible
• Confirm Diagnosis (radiology and pathology)
• Surgery (cut it out)
• Radiation (burn it)
• Chemotherapy (selective poisoning)
• Combine the above
Pre-procedure requirement
·
Different methods are used to obtain tissue for a
biopsy, depending on the location of the tumor. Some of the techniques are
conventional incisional biopsy, fine-needle-aspiration biopsy (FNA) and
Endoscopy.
- Imaging tests have to be done, which may include: CT or CAT scans, PET scans, MRI scans, Chest and dental X-rays.
- Set of X-rays of the esophagus and stomach may be used to look for cancer and find out how well you swallow.
- Laryngeal videostroboscopy is necessary that lets the doctor look at the larynx and see how well you swallow.
Strategy in Diagnosing Throat Cancer
• Determine exact location of throat cancer lesion
• Find out the extent of spread of throat cancer -
local, regional and systemic
• Confirm throat cancer with the diagnosis
with histo-pathological investigation like biopsy
• Ascertain the patient’s fitness to undergo
treatment
Use a multi-modality approach if necessary to treat the disease, using:
1. Surgical
removal of the diseased part of body
2. Loco-regional
control of disease with radiation
3. Systemic
control of disease with Chemotherapy
• Giving Patient the best quality of life possible with
rehabilitation measures
• Regular monitoring for any recurrence of disease
Tests for Throat Cancer
• Patient’s general fitness
• Radiological investigations for determining the extent of
disease and staging
• Biopsy is required for diagnosis
• Performed in operation theater with patient under
anesthesia
• Other potentially required tests:
1. Direct
laryngoscopy
2. Bronchoscopy
3. Esophagoscopy
4. Chest X-ray
5. CT or MRI
6. Liver function
tests with or without US
Staging
for Throat Cancer
Stae 1 and 2
Mild, usually curable. Radiation therapy followed by surgery if necessary
Stage 3
Chances the cancer has spread are high. Radiotherapy alongside
chemotherapy. Surgery usually precedes radiotherapy, but not always.
Stage 4
Can be treated but not likely curable. Same treatment as Stage 3. mostly
palliative.
Surgery and Side Effects in Throat Cancer
Throat
Cancer Treatment in India
Throat cancer
refers to cancerous tumors that develop in your throat (pharynx), voice box
(larynx) or tonsils. Most throat cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. This
means they develop in the squamous cells that line the throat. The main risk
factors for throat cancer are smoking or using smokeless tobacco and use of
alcohol. Symptoms of throat cancer are trouble breathing or speaking, frequent
headaches, pain or ringing in the ears, trouble swallowing and ear pain. You
can reduce your risk of throat cancer by not smoking, not chewing tobacco and
limiting alcohol use.
The treatment will depend on the type of cancer and
how far it has spread. Minimally invasive endoscopic surgery is a new technique
that removes the whole tumor through the mouth, without incisions and little or
no change in speech and swallowing.
Other procedures that can be employed are Transoral Laser Microsurgery (TLM),
Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) and Supracricoid Partial Laryngectomy.
Surgery for early stage throat cancer is bound to the throat surface or the
vocal cords. There are surgeries to remove all or part of the voice box called
Laryngectomy and Pharyngectomy to remove all or part of the throat. Surgery is
the preferred treatment for early stage throat cancers. For advanced stage or
recurrent throat cancer, we may combine surgery with other forms of treatment,
such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
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