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Every year, nearly 4 Poles are diagnosed with cancers of the upper respiratory tract. This disease can affect both smokers and non-smokers, of all ages and both genders. These tumors often develop secretly without symptoms and are detected at a stage when medicine is no longer powerless. That is why ENT specialists advise to control the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract as part of early oncological prophylaxis.
Often, lesions of the upper respiratory tract do not give any symptoms. Therefore, ailments such as chronic hoarseness, persistent pain in the area of the forehead, eye sockets, nasopharynx, larynx and ears, recurrent persistent nosebleeds, unilateral hearing loss absolutely require a visit to an ENT specialist. The development of cancers of the upper respiratory tract is fostered by smoking, drinking pure alcohol, infection with human papilloma, inhaling paint and varnish vapors, recurrent infections and poor oral hygiene, i.e. broken teeth.
Early diagnosis of neoplasms of the upper respiratory tract
It must be remembered that early detection of a precancerous state allows for complete cure, while ignoring these symptoms increases the risk of cancer by up to several dozen percent. The most common neoplasms found in the area of the upper respiratory tract are laryngeal cancer, throat cancer, less often oral cavity cancer and neoplasms originating from the salivary glands or lymph tissue. Unfortunately, not all changes can be seen in a traditional ENT examination using a special mirror. That is why ENT specialists are increasingly using endoscopic examinations which involve inserting a thin tube into the nose and larynx with a camera at the tip. It feeds the image to a high-resolution color monitor.
Changes in a new light
Unfortunately, the usual endoscopic examination cannot detect all changes at a very early stage. Fortunately, new diagnostic possibilities have emerged. – Recently, modern diagnostic equipment using NBI light has been available for Polish patients, thanks to which we can painlessly and comprehensively check the condition of the upper respiratory tract during one visit. Endoscopic examination with the use of NBI is commonly used, for example, in gastroenterology, but in the case of laryngology it is a novelty – emphasizes Dr. Michał Michalik, specialist in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, head of the MML Medical Center.
NBI in ENT
The NBI (Narrow Band Imaging) test takes advantage of the differences in the light-absorbing properties of the blood and the tissues surrounding the blood vessel. The healthy mucosa covering the upper respiratory tract is pink-red in color. Thanks to NBI, it is possible to assess its color and detect places with increased metabolism and excessive vascularization, which may indicate a neoplastic change. This examination allows for the early detection of even small changes, including those that are poorly visible with an ordinary examination. Early detection of inflammation or a neoplastic lesion is a greater chance for a faster and effective cure. – NBI is also helpful during surgical procedures, where imaging the tissues with a narrow beam of light reliably indicates to the surgeon the border between healthy mucosa and neoplastic tissue. Thanks to this, it is possible to precisely remove the diseased tissue – says prof. Wiesław Konopka, from the Department of Otolaryngology of the Institute of Medicine in Łódź.
Painless and short
– The examination procedure is simple, non-invasive and painless. It consists in introducing an endoscope into the upper respiratory tract, i.e. a flexible tube with a diameter of several millimeters, ending with a high-resolution camera, allowing for a detailed view of the inside of our body. During the examination, the tissues are additionally illuminated with a narrow beam of light – NBI – which allows to obtain a highly contrasted image allowing for the differentiation and preliminary assessment of abnormalities – explains Grzegorz Sobczyk, specialist in otolaryngology, Oncology Center – Institute of Maria Skłodowskiej-Curie in Warsaw. This diagnosis takes approximately 25 minutes. Experts emphasize that early detection of neoplastic changes gives the patient a chance to fully cure the patient, so it is worthwhile to undergo prophylactic endoscopic examination with NBI once a year. People exposed to risk factors should undergo examinations with the use of an NBI endoscope. In the case of the so-called a positive test result, i.e. the detection of abnormal blood vessels within the mucosa, patients undergo detailed diagnostics. To perform such an examination, you must have a referral from a primary care physician to an ENT specialist. This will determine the purposefulness of such diagnostics. The commercial study costs about PLN 350.
Tekst: Halina of Pilon