Radiation Therapy for Throat Cancer – India Pharyngeal Cancer Hospitals

June 28, 2010 - PRLog -- Throat Cancer
Throat cancer refers to cancerous tumors that develop in your throat (pharynx) or voice box (larynx).

Your throat is a 5-inch-long muscular tube that begins behind your nose and ends in your neck. Your voice box sits just below your throat and is also susceptible to throat cancer. The voice box is made of cartilage and contains the vocal cords that vibrate to make sound when you talk. Throat cancer can also affect the piece of cartilage (epiglottis) that acts as a lid for your windpipe.

Diagnosis
In making a diagnosis of throat cancer, your doctor will first start by recording your medical history, asking about any symptoms you may be experiencing and conducting a thorough physical examination. Your doctor may also may recommend one or more of the following diagnostic tests:


Endoscopy
This test is performed in the operating room with general anesthesia to determine the extent of the tumor. During the procedure, the upper portion of the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract are visualized with endoscopes, which are long, thin and flexible tubes equipped with a tiny video camera and light on the end. The endoscope is used to look at areas in the throat and respiratory tract that cannot be seen during a physical exam. Other areas examined include the esophagus, trachea and bronchi of the lungs.

The endoscope has a channel that allows instruments to be passed through in order to take tissue samples. By adjusting the various controls on the endoscope, the doctor can safely maneuver the instrument to carefully examine the inside lining of the upper portion of the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract. The high-quality picture from the endoscope is shown on a TV monitor. In many cases, endoscopy is a more precise examination than X-ray studies.


Imaging Tests
Your doctor may also recommend imaging tests, such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan, positron emission tomography (PET) scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which provide additional information regarding the stage of the tumor and whether the cancer has spread to surrounding lymph nodes in the neck or elsewhere in the body.

Treatment
Surgery

Before having surgery, your doctor will discuss the procedure with you in detail and discuss any possible side effects.

If the tumor is small and localized, surgery will often successfully remove the tumor with few side effects. However, if the tumor is advanced and has spread to surrounding areas, surgery will be more extensive and may involve the removal of parts of your throat, mouth, jaw or voice box. In these cases, your ability to speak, chew, swallow and breathe may be affected. Reconstructive surgery can help restore your appearance and rehabilitate speech and swallowing function. Prosthetic devices in your mouth may replace removed portions of your teeth, gums and jaw. In more advanced cases, you may need to use tubes for feeding and breathing and an artificial voice aid for speaking.

You will also work with a speech-language pathologist to assist you with problems related to speaking and swallowing. In addition, you may work with a dietitian who will help you develop a nutritional plan that includes healthy foods that are easy to swallow and chew.


Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy can be used for select small tumors as primary treatment. It is also administered following surgery or in combination with chemotherapy for advanced tumors.


Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Researchers are looking for effective drugs or drug combinations to treat throat cancer. They are also exploring ways to combine chemotherapy with other forms of cancer treatment to help destroy the tumor and prevent the disease from spreading. For advanced tumors, chemotherapy is often given in combination with radiation therapy, typically in the setting of a therapeutic clinical trial.


Pharyngeal Cancer
What is Pharyngeal Cancer? The pharynx, often called the throat, is a hollow tube about 5 inches long that starts behind the nose and goes down to the neck to become part of the esophagus (tube that goes to the stomach). Air and food pass through the pharynx on the way to the windpipe (trachea) or the esophagus.

Treatment
Treatment for pharyngeal cancer depends on the location of the tumor, as well as the stage of the cancer, and the person's age and overall health. Treatment options aim to minimize damage to a person's ability to eat, breathe and talk.


Surgery
is a common treatment of cancer of the oropharynx. A doctor may remove the cancer and some of the healthy tissue around the cancer. If cancer has spread to lymph nodes, the lymph nodes will be removed (lymph node dissection). A new type of surgery called micrographic surgery is being tested in clinical trials for early cancers of the oropharynx. Micrographic surgery removes the cancer and as little normal tissue as possible. During this surgery, the doctor removes the cancer and then uses a microscope to look at the cancerous area to make sure there are no oropharynx cancer cells remaining.


Radiation therapy
uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes in the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy). External radiation to the thyroid or the pituitary gland may change the way the thyroid gland works. The doctor may wish to test the thyroid gland before and after therapy to make sure it is working properly. Giving drugs with the radiation therapy to make the oropharynx cancer cells more sensitive to radiation (radiosensitization) is being tested in clinical trials. If smoking is stopped before radiation therapy is started, there is a better chance of surviving longer.


Chemotherapy
uses drugs to kill oropharynx cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body.

People with oropharyngeal cancer have a higher risk of getting other cancers in the head and neck area. Clinical trials of oropharynx chemoprevention therapy are testing whether certain drugs can prevent second cancers from developing in the mouth, throat, windpipe, nose, or esophagus (the tube that connects the throat to the stomach).


Hyperthermia
uses a special machine to heat the body for a certain period of time to kill cancer cells. Because cancer cells are often more sensitive to heat than normal cells, the oropharynx cancer cells die and the cancer shrinks.




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