Throat Cancer

What is Throat Cancer?

The medical terms for throat cancer are laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer. Cancers that appear in the throat are actually cancers of the larynx, also known as the voice box, and the pharynx, the internal part of the neck and throat that acts as a passageway for both air and food.

The three parts of the pharynx are the nasopharynx, which conjoins your nose to your mouth, the oropharynx, which is the base of your tongue and your soft palate, and the hypopharynx or the laryngopharynx, which attaches the other first two parts of the pharynx to the esophagus and the windpipe. This is also where the larynx, or the voice box, can be found, which is why cancer that begins in the larynx is also considered a throat cancer.

Throat Cancer Statistics

According to the American Cancer Society, the estimated figure of new cases of pharyngeal cancer in 2006 comes up to 11,800, with an estimated 2,180 number of deaths in the US alone. Although it occurs in a smaller area in your throat, laryngeal cancer comes close, with estimated new cases at 11,300 and estimated deaths at 3,660, a larger figure than for patients with pharyngeal cancer.

Causes of Throat Cancer

Interestingly, smoking and other hazardous lifestyle practices are considered high risk factors of throat cancer. Smoking and chewing tobacco, smoking marijuana and cigarettes, and excessive consumption of alcohol may corrupt the DNA in the cells found in your throat, causing them to mutate abnormally into cancerous cells. Other causes include exposure to manufacturing residue from asbestos, nickel, paint, certain woodworking, and fibers from some textiles, as well as betel nut chewing, and the exorbitant consumption of nitrites, which are found in salted fish, and red and processed meats.

Some causes of throat cancer are viral. Nasopharyngeal cancer may be developed with the acquisition of the Epstein-Barr virus, while oropharyngeal cancer may have a connection to human papillomavirus infection, which may be transmitted to the throat through oral sexual intercourse. Another cause of throat cancer is acid reflux disease, wherein your stomach acids move up to your throat, often by vomiting. The walls of the throat are too tender to withstand gastric acid and this may cause abnormal development of cancerous cells.

Throat Cancer Symptoms

Symptoms of throat cancer may include persistent sore throat, neck and jaw pain and swelling, a prolonged hoarseness in the voice, and difficulty swallowing. There could also be a blister in your mouth that doesn’t heal, as well as a lump in your neck. You could also experience pain in your teeth and gums and your voice could change pitch, sometimes emitting a high-pitched sound while breathing. Cancerous cells may even cause bad breath.

Throat Cancer Treatments

Surgery and radiation therapy are used to treat throat cancer in its early stages, while a combination of radiation therapy and surgery or chemotherapy is used for treatment of the cancer in its more progressed stages. Aside from these treatments, throat cancer patients will have to also undergo reconstructive surgery, as well as speech therapy and rehabilitative therapy to help the patient with speaking and swallowing.

Throat cancers may only be cured if treated early and the cancer has not yet metastasized to other organs. Unlike other cancers, throat cancer is easy to detect, and by decreasing alcohol intake and cutting down or quitting smoking altogether, prevention of cancers of the throat is actually quite simple.

Bookmarks
Bookmark This |