Throat Cancer
What are other throat cancer types?
Hypopharyngeal
cancer: This cancer affects the part of your throat that’s just above your
esophagus and windpipe.
Nasopharyngeal
cancer: This is a rare type of throat cancer. It affects the part of your
throat that’s just behind your nose.
Supraglottic
cancer: This cancer starts in the upper part of your larynx. It can affect your
epiglottis, the cartilage that keeps food from going into your windpipe. About
35% of all laryngeal cancers start in your supraglottis.
Glottic
cancer: This is cancer in your vocal cords. Your vocal cords are in the middle
part of your larynx. More than half of all laryngeal cancers start here.
Subglottic
cancer: This cancer starts below your vocal cords in the lower part of your
voice box. About 5% of all laryngeal cancers start here.
What are
throat cancer symptoms?
Throat cancer
includes several types of cancer that can affect different parts of your throat
in different ways. Some common throat cancer symptoms include:
A sore throat
that lasts for more than two weeks.
Pain or
difficulty swallowing food (dysphagia).
Changes in
your voice, like hoarseness, that last more than two weeks.
Lumps in the
back of your throat or mouth.
Lumps in your
neck, including the back of your neck.
Ear pain that
lasts more than two weeks.
Having these
symptoms doesn’t mean you have throat cancer. Many times, these symptoms are
signs of other less serious conditions. If you have a symptom that lasts two
weeks or more, talk to your healthcare provider so they can find out what’s
causing it.
How would I
know if I had throat cancer?
Your
healthcare provider is your best source of information about throat cancer.
That’s because many throat cancer symptoms are similar to other less serious
conditions. That said, hoarseness that doesn’t go away within two weeks may be
an early symptom of laryngeal cancer. Other common throat cancer symptoms are
sore throat or trouble swallowing food that lasts two weeks or more.
What is the main
cause of throat cancer?
Throat cancer
happens when something triggers changes in the genetic makeup of cells in your
throat. This change turns healthy throat cells into cancerous cells that grow
and multiply. Researchers are investigating what triggers this change. But
they’ve linked throat cancer to some activities and medical conditions that
increase your risk of developing some form of throat cancer:
You smoke or
use tobacco products (including chewing tobacco and snuff) now or you used to
smoke tobacco or use tobacco products. Using tobacco is the single largest risk
factor for developing head and neck cancer, including throat cancer.
You drink
more than a moderate amount of alcohol. Researchers link laryngeal and
pharyngeal cancer to frequent and heavy consumption of alcohol.
You have a
specific type of sexually transmitted disease called human papillomavirus
(HPV).