Head and neck cancer, which includes pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal (throat) cancer and mouth cancer, is the sixth most common cancer in the world.
What factors cause the development of throat cancer?
The factors that most contribute to the appearance of one of these tumors are mainly tobacco and alcohol, although there are other factors that can help its development, such as some viruses, radiation or prolonged exposure to wood dust.
In what cases is surgery used to treat it?
The treatment of this type of tumor is based on surgery and radiotherapy, separately or combined, depending on the case. In advanced tumors chemotherapy is also used.
Generally, we will resort to surgery in very delimited tumors or in large tumors that do not respond to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, the individual treatment of each patient is essential.
What does this surgery consist of?
The mission of the surgery is always to completely remove the tumor. Depending on the stage and location of the cancer, different operations can be used to remove it. More and more surgical techniques are becoming available that allow us to partially preserve the larynx (laser through the mouth, supracricoid techniques, etc.), avoiding the aggressiveness of complete removal of the larynx. In addition, to prevent the tumor from spreading, it is sometimes necessary to remove the lymph nodes in the neck, which is usually done in the same operation. It may also be necessary, depending on the extent of the tumor, to partially or completely remove neighboring structures such as some neck muscles, part of the trachea, the base of the tongue, part of the pharynx, the thyroid, etc.
What are the consequences?
If partial surgery is performed, the voice could be affected and also the swallowing temporarily. However, after rehabilitation we could breathe, speak and eat as usual.
On the contrary, if the tumor requires a complete removal of the larynx, the consequences are more evident: We would have a definitive stoma (hole) in the trachea and we would have to learn to speak by other techniques (erigmophonia). Currently we have phonatory prostheses that have revolutionized the consequences of these interventions, since they allow us to speak with a remarkable quality.
Can the affected tissue be reconstructed after the operation?
Depending on the aggressiveness of the surgery it may be necessary to perform reconstructive surgery: reconstruct the operated area, either with local, regional or even micro-anastomosed flaps. It is a transplantation of skin and tissues to cover the area that has been resected by the tumor. These techniques require specialized equipment for this type of tumor.