Head and neck cancers include several different types of malignant tumors affecting parts of the head and neck, including the nose and sinus cavities, mouth, throat, voice box and salivary glands. Head and neck cancers typically involve the mucosa, or the tissues lining these areas, and represent about 4% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
Treating head and neck cancers
If you are diagnosed with cancer, Wellstar provides expert care. Oropharyngeal cancers are typically treated with surgery (with or without radiation therapy) or radiation therapy (with or without chemotherapy) at equivalent cure rates. Goals of treatment are to remove the cancer, prevent its return and limit side effects.
“Wellstar providers work with patients to tailor care to their needs—based on effectiveness of the treatment, tumor location and stage, accessibility of the tumor to a surgical approach, risk of side effects and patient choice,” said Dr. Kia Jones, a Wellstar ear nose & throat physician.
In the Head and Neck STAT Clinics at Wellstar Cobb, Douglas and North Fulton Medical Centers, the patient meets with their entire treatment team in a single day during treatment planning and may start treatment sooner, which may improve outcomes for patients and provides more peace of mind.
New surgical method improves treatment
Transoral robotic surgery, offered at Wellstar North Fulton, has changed the way oropharyngeal cancers are treated surgically.
“In this procedure, the surgeon accesses the cancer by passing tools through the mouth rather than making an incision,” said Dr. Jones, who performs the procedure.
For those patients with early-stage tumors and limited disease in the neck, the surgery offers the patient a cure at a single intervention without the need for tracheostomy or abdominal feeding tube, faster return to taking food orally, improved outcomes and faster recovery. This is preferred over traditional surgical methods, which require splitting the jaw and/or the tongue or gaining access to the throat via neck incision.
Reducing your risk
You can take action against common risk factors by decreasing tobacco and alcohol use and getting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Some well-known risk factors for the development of head and neck cancers include heavy alcohol and tobacco use, especially if someone uses alcohol and tobacco together. Men are three times more likely to be diagnosed with oral and throat cancer compared to women, according to the American Cancer Society.
An additional risk factor is HPV infection, which is related to the development of oropharyngeal cancer specifically. The oropharynx is the midsection of the throat and includes the tonsils and the root of the tongue or tongue base where the vast majority of these tumors originate. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer is more prevalent now than HPV-related cervical cancer in women. HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer has been increasing in the United States over the last three to four decades, while the incidence of tobacco and alcohol-related tumors has been declining. More than 22,500 people are diagnosed with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer each year.
Learn more about how Wellstar cares for head and neck cancers.
