Head & neck cancers are very common and affect hundreds of thousands of people each year. These are a group of cancers originating from the head or neck tissues.
They affect the head, mouth and throat, including the nose, paranasal sinuses (sinus cavities), middle ear, oral cavity, larynx (voice box), etc. It’s important to diagnose head & neck cancers as early as possible because they are common, recognizable, and often curable.
This blog looks at the most common types and symptoms related to head & neck cancers. Moreover, we discuss the available treatments for it in detail.
Types of Head and Neck Cancer
There are many different types of head and neck cancers. They can be hard to differentiate because they look similar under a microscope and often have similar symptoms.
Head and neck cancers are often divided into groups depending on whether they affect the middle ear, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, oral cavity, tongue, salivary glands, throat or larynx (voice box).
The main types of head and neck cancer include:
- Laryngeal cancer – affects the voice box (larynx).
- Tongue cancer – affects the tongue.
- Oral cavity cancer – affects the inside of your mouth (tongue, gums, lips and palate).
- Throat cancer – affects the throat (Pharynx).
- Oropharyngeal cancer – affects your tonsils and the back part of your mouth.
- Hypopharyngeal cancer – affects the throat’s lower part (usually known as the gullet).
- Salivary gland cancer – affects the salivary glands in your mouth and throat (parotid, submandibular and sublingual).
- Nasopharyngeal cancer – affects the area at the back of your nose and upper throat (nasopharynx)
- Paranasal sinus cancer – affects one or more paranasal sinuses (a set of air-filled cavities behind the nose).
- Ear cancer.
These cancers are most often seen in smokers and drinkers. Heavy alcohol consumption can increase your risk of head and neck cancer considerably.
Head and Neck Cancer Symptoms
Patients with head and neck cancer mostly experience symptoms around the ears, throat and nose. The condition may sometimes be tough to diagnose, as the symptoms can be mild or depict less critical diseases like flu.
Symptoms vary depending on where a head and neck cancer originates, but they commonly include:
- Hoarseness, cough and change in voice
- Lumps or swellings in the neck are common symptoms of head and neck cancers. They can look like a swollen gland under your chin, under an ear, under one side of your face or even inside your mouth, throat or nose. Swelling is often tender when touched.
- White or red patches in the mouth
- Trouble swallowing (dysphagia) and chewing
- Sudden weight loss
- Strange nasal discharge
- Difficulty breathing
- Pain in the neck and jaw, which can be constant or intermittent. The pain may be significant enough to make you wince when you turn your head or bend over. It may also radiate to your ears and cause ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
- Bad mouth odor
- Headaches
- Sore throat
- Nasal obstruction or frequent nosebleeds
- Face paralysis
- Pain in the ear(s) or difficulty hearing
- Blood in the saliva
- Double vision
- Loosening of teeth
- Ear infections
- Feeling numb of a body part in the neck & head area
- Fatigue
Diagnosing Head and Neck Cancer
Different types of tests can help doctors diagnose head and neck cancer. A complete medical history and physical examination are essential. A physical exam includes scrutinising the nasal & oral cavities, throat, neck and tongue. Furthermore, your healthcare provider can check your lips, cheeks, neck and gums for lumps.
Other tests may include:
- Endoscopy: This allows your doctor to see inside your nasal cavity, throat, larynx, or other regions where symptoms are observed. This is performed using an instrument called an endoscope (a thin tube with a light). Endoscopy is mostly painless.
- Staging tests: These provide information about how far cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other body parts.
As part of your staging workup, your doctor may order imaging studies such as X-rays, CT scans or PET scans to look for signs of metastasis (spread). These imaging studies can also be used to monitor treatment response over time.
- Tissue biopsy: A procedure that involves removing a small piece of your tissue. Then, a Pathologist looks at it under a microscope to check for cancer cells.
- Blood, urine or other body sample tests: Body samples/laboratory tests can help detect changes in the body that may be related to cancer.
Treatment for Head and Neck Cancers
Treatment for head & neck cancers depends on the location of the cancer, how advanced it is and other factors, such as genetics, overall health or age. The most common treatments for head and neck cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy.
- Surgery: It is the most common treatment option for many types of head and neck cancers. Surgery may be able to remove all or part of a tumour by your surgeon. Your surgeon will also be able to observe whether any abnormal areas might have spread outside your tumor (metastasis).
If you have lymph nodes affected by the disease that was not visible on imaging tests before surgery (known as occult metastases), your doctor may recommend staging this procedure with additional testing after surgery to check for metastasis at other sites outside of those identified during staging procedures.
- Radiation therapy: It uses high-energy beams from machines outside your body (external beam radiation) or radioactive materials placed inside your body near where you have tumours (internal radiation).
Both types can reduce pain from some types of tumors; however, sometimes they also cause side effects such as fatigue due to damage from radiation on healthy tissue close by where tumours exist.
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy can be used for many types of head and neck cancers. It’s often used after surgery or radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells that may have been left behind by those treatments.
Cancer cells grow and divide quickly. Chemotherapy works by slowing or stopping this process. It does this by damaging the DNA of cancer cells so they can’t grow or divide as fast as normal cells. This stops them from growing into new cancers and also helps kill off small numbers of them.
Early Detection is A Life-Saver in Head & Neck Cancers
If detected early, a complete cure is possible for head and neck cancer. On the flip side, the chances of survival decrease as cancer progresses. It’s important to know how to diagnose head & neck cancers as early as possible.
If you or someone you know has symptoms of head or neck cancer, it’s important that you get tested right away.
Head & neck cancer can be spotted early by getting regular screenings (like dental exams) and practising good hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the disease. You should also avoid smoking and alcohol consumption since both increase your risk of developing head & neck cancers.
If you notice any of the above-listed symptoms in yourself or someone you know, contact your doctor immediately.
Amandeep Medicity Hospital: World-Class Treatment for Head & Neck Cancer
Although not everyone will have direct experience with head and neck cancer, it is important for you to be informed about this type of cancer. If you experience any signs & symptoms or if they persist or worsen, be sure to see your doctor right away.
Head and neck cancer symptoms can be relatively subtle and easy to dismiss, but they deserve serious attention. The faster that cancer can be diagnosed and treated, the better the chances are for a full recovery.
The ENT Department at Amandeep Hospital offers a host of treatment options for various ear, neck & throat diseases, including cancer. Our proficient ENT Doctors provide accurate diagnosis and treatment using Otology, Rhinology, Head & Neck Surgery and more. So, if you are searching for the best ENT Surgeons in the region, Amandeep Medicity Hospital is the answer.
Book an appointment or visit us. Contact us today!
