Throat Cancer: Types, Causes, Symptoms, Risk Factors, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

Throat cancer is the term for cancer that starts in the throat (pharynx) or voice box (larynx). Your throat is the muscular tube that extends from the back of your nose to the base of your neck. Throat cancer usually begins in the flat cells lining the inside of the throat.

Not only is your voice box situated directly below your throat, but it also puts you at risk for throat cancer. The cartilage voice box houses the vocal cords, which vibrate when you talk to make a sound.

Types Of Throat Cancer

"Throat cancer" describes cancer that can develop in the throat (pharyngeal cancer) or voice box (laryngeal cancer). Terminology helps identify the precise location of the throat where the cancer originated, even though most throat cancers involve the same cell types.

• Nasopharyngeal cancer initially manifests itself in the nasopharynx, or the region of your throat directly behind your nose.
• Oropharyngeal cancer initially manifests itself in the oropharynx, the region of your throat directly behind your mouth that houses your tonsils.
• Hypopharyngeal cancer, also termed laryngopharyngeal cancer, begins in the hypopharynx, the bottom part of your throat that is situated just above your esophagus and windpipe.
• Glottic cancer initially manifests in the voice chords.
• Supraglottic cancer begins in the mouth and can harm the epiglottis, a portion of cartilage that keeps food from entering the top part of the voice box.
• Subglottis Cancer originates in the lower portion of your voice box, below your vocal cords.

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Causes Of Throat Cancer

Throat cancer can result from genetic changes in the cells that make up your throat. These mutations cause cells to grow uncontrollably large and to continue living long after healthy cells have stopped. A tumor could develop from the cells in your throat.

It is uncertain what causes the mutation that leads to throat cancer. Nonetheless, medical professionals have identified a few factors that may increase your risk.

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Symptoms Of Throat Cancer

Some of the warning indicators and symptoms of cancer of the throat are:

• Cough 
• Changes in voice quality, such as hoarseness or difficulty speaking
• Having difficulty swallowing
• An ear pain
• A pain or lump that won't go away 
• Sore throat
• Weight loss

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Risk Factors Of Throat Cancer

Some variables that may increase your risk of throat cancer include:

• Utilization of tobacco products, like chewing gum and cigarettes
• Excessive consumption of alcohol-related viruses, including the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the Epstein-Barr virus
• A diet deficient in fruits and vegetables
• Gastritis reflux disease or GERD
• Working with potentially harmful materials

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Diagnosis Of Throat Cancer

Should your doctor determine that you have throat cancer, they may advise:

• Obtaining a closer look with a scope at your neck. Using an endoscope, which is a specially illuminated scope, your doctor can examine your throat up close during an endoscopy. Using the camera on the endoscope, your doctor examines the pictures it sends on a video screen to check for any signs of abnormalities in your throat.
• Another type of scope that you can insert into your voice box is a laryngoscope. It facilitates the use of a magnifying lens by your doctor to examine your voice cords. The term laryngoscopy is used to describe this procedure.
• Collecting a tissue sample for examination. Your doctor may use a scope to implant surgical instruments and get a tissue biopsy sample if anomalies are found during an endoscopy or laryngoscopy. Pathologists, experts with particular expertise, will look for signs of cancer in the lab. Since certain types of throat cancer have treatments that are affected by HPV, the tissue sample may also be tested for this virus.
• Radiological tests: To determine the extent of your cancer beyond the surface of your voice box or throat, your doctor may perform imaging tests including positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computerized tomography (CT).

Staging Of Throat Cancer

Step two following a diagnosis of throat cancer is to determine the cancer's stage, or extent. You can make the finest decision if you are aware of the stage.

Cancer of the throat is categorized by the Roman numbers I through IV. Every throat cancer subtype has particular requirements for each stage. Usually, a smaller tumor that is restricted to the throat is indicated by the stage I classification of throat cancer. Cancer in its later stages indicates a higher degree of progression; stage IV is the most advanced.

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Treatment Of Throat Cancer

The type of cells involved, whether the cells show signs of HPV infection, the location and stage of your throat cancer, your overall health, and your preferences will all influence your treatment options. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each option you have with your doctor. The optimum course of treatment for you can be determined by you and your partner.

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Radiation therapy

Using high-energy beams from sources like protons and X-rays, radiation treatment uses radiation to kill cancer cells.

A large machine outside the body (known as external beam radiation) or small radioactive seeds and wires inside the body, close to the malignancy (known as brachytherapy) can be utilized for administering radiation therapy.

Small throat tumors or throat cancers that have not spread to the lymph nodes may require simply radiation therapy as a kind of treatment. Highly advanced throat tumors may be treated with radiation therapy to improve patient comfort and reduce symptoms.

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Surgery

Your options for surgical therapies will depend on the location and stage of your throat cancer. Options that could be considered include:

• Surgery for small throat tumors or non-lymphatic node-metalizing cancers. If throat cancer is restricted to the surface or vocal cords of the throat, endoscopy surgery may be utilized to treat it. Your physician may put a hollow endoscope into your neck or voice box, and a laser or other specialized surgical tool may be used to pass the scope through. With these tools, your doctor can remove extremely superficial cancers by scraping, cutting, or, in the case of the laser, vaporizing them.
• Laryngectomy: a partial or total voice box excision. In situations of smaller tumors, your doctor may remove the malignant section of your voice box while preserving as much of the voice box as possible. Your doctor may be able to keep you breathing and speaking normally.

If there is a larger, more widespread cancer, it may be necessary to remove your voice box completely. Your windpipe is then attached to a tracheotomy, or hole, in your throat, to permit breathing. If all of your larynx is removed, you will have a few options for speaking once again. You can work with a speech pathologist to learn how to speak without using your voice box.

• Pharyngectomy, or partial neck excision surgery. If you have less throat cancer, surgery could just need to remove a little section of your throat. After having some portions of yourself removed and restored, you might be able to swallow food regularly. Removing your voice box is usually a part of a larger surgical procedure to remove more throat tissue. Your doctor may be able to reconstruct your throat to make it easier for you to swallow food.
• Surgery for the removal of cancerous lymph nodes is called neck dissection. If your throat cancer has progressed to the lymph nodes in your neck, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove all or part of them to test whether the nodes contain cancer cells.

After surgery, there's a danger of bleeding and infection. The specific procedure you have will determine any other possible side effects, such as difficulty speaking or swallowing.

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Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy kills cancer cells using drugs. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are often combined for the treatment of throat cancers. Certain chemotherapy medications can induce cancer cells to become more sensitive, which can be countered by radiation therapy.

 But when radiation and chemotherapy are combined, the negative consequences get worse. Discuss potential side effects with your doctor, as well as if receiving many treatments will yield benefits that outweigh the side effects.

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Targeted Drug Therapy

Medication that targets specific defects in cancer cells to encourage cancer cell growth is one way that targeted therapies treat throat cancer.

Cetuximab is one targeted therapy that has been approved for the specific conditions of treating throat cancer. Cetuximab inhibits an enzyme that is prevalent in certain types of throat cancer cells but absent from many other types of healthy cells.

A growing number of targeted drugs are available, and more are being studied in clinical trials. It is possible to take targeted drugs alone, in combination with radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or neither.

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Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy works by strengthening your body's defenses against cancer. Because cancer cells produce proteins to help them elude immune system cells, your immune system, which fights disease, might not be able to fight your cancer. Immunotherapy is often reserved for patients with advanced cancers of the throat who are not responding to standard treatment.

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Rehabilitation after medication

To regain speaking, eating solid food, and swallowing abilities, patients undergoing treatment for throat cancer often have side effects that may require specialized consultation. Your doctor may recommend therapy for you to receive during and after treatment for throat cancer.

• In case you underwent a tracheotomy, you are responsible for the maintenance of a surgical incision in your throat (stoma)
• problems with eating and swallowing
• Your neck hurts and feels stiff.
• Difficulties with speech

You can discuss the potential side effects and challenges of your drugs with your doctor.

Prevention Of Throat Cancer

Currently, there is no proven way to prevent throat cancer from progressing. On the other hand, you can reduce your risk of throat cancer by doing the following:

• Give up smoking or don't even consider starting. If you smoke, stop now. If you are not a smoker, do not start. Seek support if you're having trouble quitting smoking. The benefits and drawbacks of different medications, psychotherapy, and nicotine replacement therapy as strategies for quitting smoking can be discussed with your doctor.
• If you do drink, please limit your intake. If you choose to drink, use it sparingly. For healthy individuals, this means no more than one drink for women and two for men per day.
• Make a diet full of nutrients that are high in fruits and vegetables. Vitamins and antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables may reduce your chance of developing throat cancer. Consume a wide variety of colorful fruits and veggies.
• Preventing Hepatitis C. Many throat cancers are thought to be caused by the sexually transmitted virus known as the human papillomavirus (HPV). You can minimize your risk of HPV by limiting the number of partners you have sex with and always using a condom. See your doctor regarding the HPV vaccination, since it may lower the risk of throat cancer and other HPV-related cancers.

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