Head and neck cancer is a general name given to cancer of many organs. These cancers, whose incidence is increasing, occur in the oral cavity (tongue, lip, gingiva, cheek, palate), oropharynx (tongue root, floor of the mouth, tonsil), larynx (larynx), nasopharynx (nasopharynx) and hypopharynx (pharynx) regions. . Generally, the most known reason is the use of tobacco products.
Head and neck cancers affect many organs and bring aesthetic concerns, especially in the face area. Today, however, good results are obtained in these cancers thanks to multidisciplinary approaches and modern treatments.
Laryngeal cancer is most common
According to the numbers, the most common cancer among the head and neck cancers, which is more common in men, is laryngeal cancer. Cancer of this region ranks 9th among the top 10 most common cancers. In developed western countries, it is possible to encounter more oral cancers. If we gather head and neck cancers in four main groups, we can list them as follows: nasal cancers starting from the mouth to the throat, cancers from the nostril to the sinuses, cancers with the vocal cords and cancers that occur in the part below this area we call the larynx.
Treatment is planned according to the cell type and genetic characteristics of the cancer.
In the treatment of head and neck cancers, treatments are determined according to the cell type or, more recently, the molecular genetic characteristics of the cancer. In the multidisciplinary treatment of the disease, after an ear, nose and throat examination, additional endoscopic evaluations are made and suspicious areas are examined. At this stage, the diagnostic phase is completed by performing the necessary biopsies. In treatment; surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiotherapy methods are used.
On the Ministry of Health website, where the latest cancer statistics for 2016 are shared, while lung cancer in men is close to 60 per 100,000, prostate cancer is the second with 35, colon cancer is the third with 25 and urinary bladder is at 21. They are followed by gastric cancer with 14. In women, breast cancer is close to 46, followed by thyroid cancer with 23, large intestine with 14, uterine and lung cancer with 10.
Immunotherapy can be applied in combination with radiotherapy.
With the completion of the human genome project in 2013, cancer genome studies also gained momentum. Thanks to molecular genetic tests that detect cancer’s proliferation pathways, nowadays, good results are often obtained in cancer treatment by blocking the proliferation pathway of tumor cells with smart drug and immunotherapy treatments.
Another important development is the application of immunotherapy combined with radiotherapy in the treatment of head and neck cancers. The results of the early researches of this application are successful and advanced studies continue.
The side effects of immunotherapy are less common than chemotherapy, and in many patients, the treatment can be continued as long as it is effective. In this respect, immunotherapy differs from chemotherapy treatments, which can be applied for a limited time.
