Symptoms of Throat Cancer

To date, statistics show that 65-70% of malignant tumors account for laryngeal cancer. Today, as we see, this is one of the common diseases of the throat. Especially often it affects men aged 40 and older. Women can also fall into the risk group. Of all the ill people, about 60% are completely cured. Most often this affliction affects the townspeople, the villagers in this case are less than 1.5 - 2 times less.

Causes of the throat cancer

The most common causes of it can be smoking. The more a person in his life smoked, the higher his risk of developing cancer of the larynx.

In the complex interaction of tobacco smoke and alcohol, the risk of malignant formation is almost doubled. It is also worth noting that the symptoms of throat cancer appear not only because of smoking and alcohol abuse.

The use of alcohol, all kinds of infectious diseases in the oral cavity, as well as pollution of the environment, can also provoke  cancer of the larynx. The human papilloma virus can also lead to laryngeal cancer.

[1], [2], [3], [4]

Risk factors

In addition to the above, risk factors include:

• a lack of B and A vitamins, which can also cause throat cancer;
• a weak immune system, congenital diseases or HIV infected;
• Men working in places of accumulation of chemical substances or constant contact with harmful chemical elements. These include wood dust, paints, varnishes, etc.
• African Americans.

If a man: 

• consumes a large amount of salted meat; 
• does not follow oral hygiene; 
• often breathes air with a high content of asbestos or coal dust; 
• has a number of genetic predispositions to this disease,
• then they can also become a risk of cancer of the larynx.

[5], [6], [7]

Symptoms of the throat cancer

Cancer of the larynx occurs in such a way that healthy cells suddenly begin to actively divide, grow and touch adjacent organs. Moreover, cancer cells can produce metastases. Cancerous foci can appear even where one can not expect in very remote places from the tumor itself. This can be explained by the fact that the cells of this tumor can spread throughout all lymphatic and blood vessels.

In cancer of the larynx, there may be a need to perform an operation to remove a malignant tumor, namely the larynx. As a result, a person completely loses the ability to speak for himself. There is a hope for an artificial larynx, which scientists have created in our time. This is the so-called "voice prosthesis", which is able to restore up to 80% of speech.

This is a small box-implanting device that is inserted into the space formed between the trachea and the esophagus, which is very unpleasant and unusual for a person.

Symptoms of the cancer of the throat and larynx reveal in this case it will not be difficult. An early form of cancer of the larynx can be identified by an osseous voice. But if a person has noticed the following signs, it is also important for him to see a doctor as soon as possible.

So, if a man:

• causelessly feels a noticeable weight loss,
• a long period of time coughing does not leave him alone,
• feels discomfort when swallowing, namely, his breathing becomes difficult and pain appears,
• feels a constant pain in the throat or in the ear,
• senses a visible tumor or swelling on the neck,

This is the main symptoms of the cancer of the throat and larynx, as it would not be regrettable.

If these symptoms appear, if they do not disappear more than two weeks, it is better to see a doctor as soon as possible. Usually, in 80% of cases, the 1st stage of the larynx cancer passes asymptomatically. Therefore, it is better, if the patient nevertheless during the time will notice unpleasant and not habitual for itself sensations or painful sensations.

It should be said that the symptoms of throat cancer can be different in each patient. Above we list the most common. But they can be and vary depending on the location of the tumor, the features of its development, from pathological effects on other human organs. For example, if the tumor is located in the region of the epiglottis cartilage or in the place of the antero-epiglottis fold, then the person feels like a coma in the throat. This factor can also be attributed to the first symptoms of throat cancer. If the result of the disease damages the vocal folds, then a hoarse voice may eventually disappear altogether. If the tumor grows in the lining department, then it will provoke shortness of breath, can lead to suffocation and an endless cough.

If the patient, when swallowed, feels, as we already wrote before, a foreign body, then this is one of the first tumors of the larynx, which is caused by the thickening of the epiglottis cartilage. The symptom of earaches can manifest itself at a later stage in the development of laryngeal cancer and usually this is due to the fact that the tumor grows into the nerves or grows metastases. Such a symptom, as hoarseness, arises because the tumor allows the vocal cords to tightly close and, as a rule, during the development of cancer, this hoarseness increases until the voice disappears completely. If breathing is difficult, then it has a direct connection with the germination of the tumor into the laryngeal lumen. They can be attributed to the most recent symptoms of throat cancer. In the future, it can grow into neighboring organs, for example, in the tissues of the cervical region, the trachea. In the neck area metastases can get the fastest. In the same way and with the same speed, they can manifest themselves in the root of the tongue, in the lungs and other organs. Metastatic tumors have the same structure as the underlying tumor. Therefore, if it passes into the lungs, it has the name "metastatic tumor of the larynx in the lungs," but not lung cancer. One of these signs of a throat cancer for a doctor is not enough. He is not able to diagnose a throat cancer. The patient needs to pass a lot of tests for this, to be tested. One of the most common tests that are used to diagnose a disease is a biopsy. Using a thin needle, the doctor takes a sample of the tumor tissue in order to determine in the medical laboratory whether there are cancer cells in the tissue or not. A biopsy can help determine the presence of the disease, and other diagnostic tests can determine the size and shape of the tumor and its exact location. If malignant cells are present, then the patient must undergo computed tomography, which can detect a three-dimensional image of the tumor.

The first symptoms of throat cancer

We have already talked about the symptoms in general, now we are talking about the first symptoms of throat cancer. The first signs of cancer of the larynx are manifested as follows.

The initial stage of the throat cancer, as it is also called, is accompanied by a change in the timbre of voice, hoarseness, until the voice disappears completely. After that, a person simply can not swallow saliva, or even completely swallow food because of the pain that pains him. The feeling of presence in the throat of some foreign or foreign bodies may yet be one more first signs of a throat cancer. Well, the last thing that can appear at first, so it's shortness of breath.

In later stages of throat cancer, you may experience: 

• difficulty in getting food through the esophagus. 
• constant pain, which practically does not disappear even with the treatment of the throat with all sorts of methods and means. 
• a paroxysmal or cough that does not even pass. 
• the appearance of pain in the ears. 
• not a small swelling on the neck due to the fact that there was an increase in the size of the lymph nodes. 
• in some cases - rapid weight loss.

On the started stage 3-4 of the throat cancer there is sputum with pus, with blood impurities and with an unpleasant odor from the oral cavity. Every day it becomes more difficult to breathe.

Treatment for this disease is possible, but it should start in a timely manner. Only on the degree of complication depends on whether it ends simply by treatment or the larynx of a person will be subjected to an operation intervention.

The main thing is to understand one thing, the sooner a person examines his body, the sooner a diagnosis is made, the greater the chances of getting help without harming one's health, which will help not to start the disease. Do not bring the disease to the deadlines, so that even the most radical methods will not be able to help.

On a preventive examination with a dentist, or an otolaryngologist, one can detect the presence of sores on the laryngeal mucosa, if any. However, a more accurate diagnosis of the patient can be obtained only with a special examination. Ultrasound, X-ray, helps to determine the location of the tumor and its size, shape. During the treatment period quite often a specialist can prescribe magnetic resonance imaging. An obligatory study in diagnosis is the delivery of laboratory tests in which, as a result of obtaining a piece of tissue or smear taken from the larynx, experiments are carried out under a microscope. Such an analysis is extremely necessary, because with its help it is possible to identify atypical cells - dead, or with deviations.

If treatment is carried out correctly, especially at the first stages of the development of the disease, it is possible to safely achieve a favorable prognosis. The situation worsens, as a rule, the growth of cancer ulcers in neighboring organs and tissues, some complications, in particular distant metastases, which is a sign of the generalization process.

Stages

Medicine is familiar with various forms of throat cancer. The most common among them can be considered squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. The most common malignant tumors of the larynx are in the middle section, where the vocal cords are located.

How can you determine whether you are a carrier of the disease larynx cancer or not?

As it was said before, those or other symptoms can arise as a result of where the tumor is located. If it is present in the upper parts of the pharynx, then painful sensations arise precisely in the throat. This pain is very similar to pain in angina.

When the tumor is localized in the pharynx, when a food is swallowed, a painful sensation appears in the throat. It happens that the pain can begin in the teeth or they can start falling out suddenly.

If the cancer was formed on the vocal cords, in the larynx, then, first of all, the patient can not help but notice the hoarseness of the voice, up to the point that it can completely disappear. And as we have already said, dyspnoea, difficulty in breathing, sensation of the presence in the throat of something out of the ordinary - another symptoms of the cancer of the throat and larynx.

Like any other malignant tumor, laryngeal cancer has several stages:

The zero stage, in which the biopsy reveals the presence of abnormal cells in the mucosal area that do not cross the mucosal boundary.

• Stage 1 - a tumor in the form of a small sore located in the mucosa. This may be the larynx section, which does not affect the hoarseness of the voice.
• Stage 2 - a tumor can develop into the entire larynx. Symptoms of throat cancer are the initial hoarseness of the voice, but there is no metastasis in the lymph nodes.
• Stage 3 - tumors of the larynx passes already to the neighboring tissues of the larynx, which can be the cause of changes in the voice and increase in the lymph nodes up to 3 cm.
• Stage 4 - the tumor grows in large sizes and the entire larynx, sprouting into neighboring tissues: esophagus, lungs, thyroid gland. Metastases can also be in distant organs.

It is important that before the treatment the doctor should properly study the symptoms of the cancer of the throat and determine the stage of development of his disease in the patient.

Throat cancer is a very serious disease with which jokes are bad. Therefore, if the first signs and symptoms occur, do not delay admission to the doctor. It would be better to turn to a specialist as soon as possible, than to suffer from all the bitter consequences.

[8]

Treatment of the throat cancer

Cancer of the larynx can be cured in two ways: in a conservative way and with the help of surgical intervention. Today, the patient's quality of life is given enough attention. Therefore, in the early stages of the development of cancer of the middle and upper part of the department, treatment begins with conservative methods - radiation and chemotherapy. It is on the quality and the result is on par with surgical. This therapy does not violate the function of the larynx, and patients can continue working.

What is included in the concept of "Combined treatment"? This is usually a combination of surgery and radiation therapy. It is carried out by patients with large, as a rule, tumors and development of the cancer process. Preoperative radiotherapy makes it possible to reduce the size of the tumor and helps to reduce the development of cancer cells. However, if the dose for radiation therapy is large, the wound can heal even worse.

Radiation therapy

With this therapy, laryngeal cancer is irradiated from the side fields and covers the entire larynx and the region of regional metastasis. Common reactions include weakness, headaches and nausea. Local reactions can occur in the larynx and on the skin of the neck. Patients may experience pain while swallowing, swelling of neck tissue. With changes in the larynx, inflammation and swelling of the mucosa and vocal cords occur. This can lead to even more hoarseness, and the laryngeal lumen will further decrease. Therefore, if a large tumor is found in the patient, then it is necessary to impose a tracheostomy (in a place that is located below the tumor itself, a tube is inserted into the trachea through which the patient can calmly breathe, after treatment it is removed). With radiation therapy, the function of sound formation does not change for the worse, and after the person has been treated, the sonorous voice is restored completely.

Chemotherapy

It is conducted only in conjunction with radiation therapy and surgical treatment. To do this, use platinum drugs, mainly cisplatin. It is necessary to check with a specialist: in the first year - every month, for the second year - 1 time in 3 months, from 3 to 5 years - once in 6 months, and after 5 - 1 times a year.

Chemotherapy, based on the use of medications, helps to defeat cancer. Chemotherapy is part of the comprehensive treatment of laryngeal cancer, which is prescribed in 2 cases:

1. Before surgery or before radiation therapy. As a result of its use in this case, the size of the tumor can decrease significantly.
2. After surgery or after radiation therapy. Its main goal is the final destruction of possibly surviving cancer cells.

But both are very cruel methods of treatment, which may in the future give their complications. All this affects not only malignant cells, but also other healthy human organs. When chemotherapy drugs get into the blood. With radiation therapy, which is aimed at damaging cancer cells, it can also affect healthy cells, which can adversely affect the body as a whole.

[9], [10],

Operation

Operations can be completely different. A part of the larynx may be removed. But in doing so, doctors are doing everything possible to maintain respiratory function and voice. With large tumors, the larynx is removed in full, after such operations, breathing occurs through the tracheostomy and the person is deprived of a sonorous voice. In order to restore speech completely you need to deal with a speech therapist. In this lesson, patients are taught to make a sound with the help of a swallowed stomach. This speech enables the patient to communicate with other people and even return to a normal way of life, work. In addition, special silicone voice dentures are used.

Prevention

In order to reduce the risk of laryngeal cancer, you need to do some doctor's wishes.

1. Each method of treatment, which the patient chooses, involves a difficult course, periodic prevention of the disease.
2. The main causative factors of the cancer of the throat and many other cancers, such as: cancer of the lip, mouth, esophagus, is alcohol and smoking, increased use of them. Therefore, first of all, we must abandon the pernicious. This will reduce the risk of the appearance and development of cancers.
3. It is necessary to exclude from the diet the use of sharp, salty and strongly hot dishes. And, on the contrary, more to eat vegetables and fruits. Every day you need to take care of the oral cavity, reduce stays in the sun, apply personal protective equipment in the presence of throat diseases.

[11], [12], [13]

Forecast

Symptoms of throat cancer develop slowly. As a rule, metastasis, if developed, then in remote areas. And that is very rare. Therefore, at the initial stages of the disease of the larynx cancer the prognosis is relatively successful.

[14]