Head and Neck Cancers Flashcards
What is the most common type of head and neck cancer?
Squamous cell carcinoma
What proportion of head an neck cancers are squamous cell?
90%
Where do the majority of squamous cell carcinomas originate from in the head and neck/
- Oral cavity
- Oropharynx
- Hypopharynx
- Larynx
- Trachea
What are risk factors for the development of head and neck cancers?
- Smoking
- Increased alcohol consumption
- Vitamin A and C deficiency
- Nitrosamines in salted fish
- HPV
- GORD
- Deprivation
What are symptoms of head and neck cancers?
- Neck pain/lump
- Hoarse voice > 6 weeks
- Sore throat > 6 weeks
- Mouth bleeding
- Mouth numbness
- Sore tongue
- Painful ulcers
- Patches in the mouth
- Earache/effusion
- Lumps
- Speech change
- Dysphagia
What investigations might you do for someone presenting with features of a head and neck cancer?
- Fibre-optic panendoscopy - aerodigestive tract
- FNA/Biopsy
- CT/MRI - staging
What are clinical features of oral cavity/tongue carcinomas?
- Persistent painful ulcers
- Leukoplackia/Erythroplakia - tongue, gums, mucosa
- Otalgia
- Odynophagia
- Lymphadenopathy
Which gender is more likely to develop oro-pharyngeal carcinoma?
Male
How do those with oropharyngeal carcinoma teend to present?
More often Smokers than not
- Sore throat
- Sensation of a lump
- Referred otalgia
What is the most commonly connected virus to oropharyngeal cancers?
HPV 16
What cancers has HPV 16 been linked to?
Carcinomas of the
- Tongue
- Tonsil
- Pharynx
How would someone with laryngeal cancer present??
Male smoker
- Progressive hoarseness
- Stridor
- Dysphagia/odynophagia
- Haemoptysis
- Otalgia - if pharynx involved
What investigations might you do in someone with suspected laryngeal cancer?
- Laryngoscopy + Biopsy
- HPV status
- MRI staging
How would you manage laryngeal cancer?
- Small tumours - Radical radiotherapy
- Large tumours - partial/total laryngectomy +/- block dissection of neck glands
How would you manage oropharyngeal cancer?
Surgery and chemoradiotherapy
