Malignant neoplasms of the throat – causes, symptoms and treatment

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Malignant neoplasms of the throat – sarcomas and lymphocytic epitheliomas, carcinomas – are more common than benign neoplasms, but among all malignant neoplasms they occupy a rather distant place. The symptoms of a throat cancer very often resemble a common infection of the upper respiratory tract, therefore the diagnosis and treatment implementation is often delayed.

Malignant neoplasm of the throat – definition and contributing factors

Throat malignancies develop from the growth of abnormal cells in the body around the middle, nasopharynx, or lower pharynx. This type of cancer is much more common than benign cancers.

Among the factors increasing the risk of developing throat cancer we can distinguish:

1. heavy smoking,
2. HPV (human papillomavirus) infection,
3. chewing betel seeds or tobacco,
4. drinking large amounts of alcohol
5. age (most often the tumor attacks after the age of 65),
6. male gender,
7. black race,
8. people exposed to harmful chemicals, such as asbestos or sulfuric acid vapors.

Symptoms of a malignant tumor of the throat

The early symptoms of a throat malignant tumor depend primarily on the location of the tumor. Tumors located in nasopharynxemerging from the pharyngeal tonsil do not show symptoms until they are of considerable size. This causes increasing difficulty in breathing through the nose, mostly through both nasal passages. The timbre of the voice changes and the articulation is also disturbed. There is an unpleasant odor from the mouth, and the bleeding is repeated and intensified from the nose. Larger than usual and still enlarging lymph nodes in the neck indicate the rapid development of the disease and raise the suspicion of metastasis.

Tumors located in oropharynx – its back wall or tonsil – it is usually crayfish. The tumor then has the form of an infiltrate, initially with a smooth surface. As the tumor grows, its partial disintegration and formation of a cavity covered with a necrotic gray coating.

Tumor of the palatine tonsil initially manifested by the enlargement of one tonsil, which becomes hard and less mobile. The surface of the tumor from the medial side is uneven, granular.

All these symptoms slowly build up. In the initial stage, the patient’s ailments are limited to the sensation of the presence of an obstacle in the throat, and later difficulties in speaking, and finally breathing difficulties, increase. Noticing any of these symptoms is a signal that you need to visit an ENT clinic as soon as possible.

Diagnosis of a malignant neoplasm of the throat

The basis in the diagnosis of throat cancer is, above all, a thorough medical interview with the patient. It is important to collect information on the course of ailments, medications, addictions and other accompanying diseases. After obtaining the basic information, the ENT specialist performs a medical examination that covers the nasal cavity, larynx, oral cavity and all elements of the throat. The examination is performed with the help of special mirrors and other organs that allow you to make a complete ENT assessment. Finding an outbreak is an indication for taking a mucosa slice and sending it for microscopic examination. It allows to determine whether the collected material contains cancer cells, and if so, whether it is a malignant or a benign tumor. The current technique also allows the assessment of the type of cancer it is.

Taking material for examination is not always possible during an ENT examination. Sometimes it is necessary to conduct a surgical biopsy, during which a fragment or the entire tissue is cut out. In addition, another method is a fine-needle biopsy, which consists in collecting the material with a suitable needle and syringe, or laryngoscopic biopsy, in which an endoscope is usually inserted through the nose into the throat (laryngoscopy allows to additionally assess the stage of the disease).

Imaging tests are also of great importance in diagnostics, as they help to assess how much the tumor is developed. The most popular of them are:

1. computed tomography,
2. X-ray image,
3. PET,
4. magnetic resonance imaging

Treatment of a malignant neoplasm of the throat

There are several techniques that are used to treat throat cancer.

1. The surgical method – surgery depends on where the neoplastic changes are located. If the patient has small changes, it is enough to use a minimally invasive procedure, e.g. by laser or endoscopy. These treatments are beneficial in that they allow you to avoid a mutilating scar and maintain the proper physiological functions of the throat. Unfortunately, more advanced changes are related to the extent of this procedure, and sometimes the need to excise the larynx and vocal cords. Then the patient loses the ability (partially or completely) to speak while retaining the ability to swallow.

Often the aftermath of surgery is tracheotomy – the creation of an artificial opening in the neck that leads directly to the trachea and allows for breathing after surgery. Unfortunately, in the case of throat cancer, the tracheotomy is permanent.

Patients with lymph node metastases must undergo their removal.

2. Chemotherapy – it is used as a complementary treatment after surgery and radiation. It destroys the throat cancer tissue.

3. Radiotherapy — is a method that uses high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells. It should be noted that radiation therapy destroys cells adjacent to the tumor, so a number of methods are used to reduce the adverse effects of irradiation. During radiotherapy of the throat, a special mask is made for the patient to keep the head in the correct position during the treatment and reduce side effects in the adjacent tissues.

In patients with poorly advanced cancer, treatment is possible with the use of radiation alone, and in the case of nasopharyngeal cancer, it is the main treatment. In patients with laryngeal tumor localization, radiation therapy is an adjunct to surgical treatment, either before or after surgery.

4. Targeted therapy – consists in the patient taking substances that destroy only cancer cells.

Can throat cancer be prevented?

In the prevention of throat cancer, it is important to:

1. quitting smoking
2. limiting alcohol consumption,
3. avoiding contact with chemicals such as sulfuric acid, asbestos, nickel,
4. avoiding situations where HPV infection may occur.