Throat Cancer Diagnosis

Diagnosis initially involves you and your dentist or doctor discussing the history of your signs and symptoms and your doctor performing an examination of your mouth. To determine whether abnormal-appearing areas within your mouth are cancerous, your doctor will need to take a small tissue sample (biopsy) to be examined in the laboratory.
Almost all oral and throat cancers are of the squamous cell type (squamous cell cancer or carcinoma). Squamous cells are firm and flat, and they form the lining of the oral cavity and upper throat as well as the surface of your skin. Squamous cell cancer begins with abnormal cells located only on the surface. As it progresses, the malignant cells invade deeper layers of the oral cavity and upper throat and may spread to your lymph nodes as well as to other parts of your body.
For your doctor to determine if the oral or throat cancer has spread, and if so how far it has spread, you'll need to undergo imaging procedures, which may include:
* X-ray. Your doctor may want to see dental X-rays as well as X-rays of your head and chest.
* Computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. A CT scan allows your doctor to see your organs in two-dimensional slices. Split-second computer processing creates these images as a series of very thin X-ray beams are passed through your body. An MRI scanner uses no X-rays. Instead, a computer creates tissue-slice images from data generated by a powerful magnetic field and radio waves. These images can be viewed from any direction or plane. These images help determine the extent of the mass and whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
* Ultrasound. This imaging technique uses no radiation. Instead, it combines high-frequency sound waves and computer processing. Ultrasound is especially good for providing information about the shape, texture and makeup of tumors and cysts. While you relax on a bed or examining table, a wand-like device (transducer) is placed next to your head. It emits inaudible sound waves that are reflected back to the transducer (similar to sonar). Those reflected sound waves are then translated into a moving image by a computer.
Many oral and throat cancers aren't detected until they're far advanced. When detected early, squamous cell cancer can often be successfully treated.