Throat Cancer Treatment

Doctors use surgery and radiation therapy to treat oral and throat cancer in the earliest stages. For cancer in more advanced stages, doctors use surgery combined with radiation therapy or radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy. Your treatment plan should be developed for you specifically based on multiple factors by an integrated team of doctors including surgeons, cancer specialists (oncologists) and oncologists who specialize in treating cancer with radiation (radiation oncologists). Treatment options include:
Surgery.
The type of surgery you may need depends on the size and location of the tumor. Doctors can surgically remove tumors that haven't grown into nearby tissues with relatively few side effects. However, if the tumor has invaded nearby tissues, the operation is more extensive. Sometimes surgeons need to remove bone tissue from the jaw or the roof of the mouth. To treat a cancer of your tongue or the upper part of your throat, your surgeon may need to remove tissues that you use to swallow and in some cases your voice box (larynx). If the cancer has spread beyond your mouth, your surgeon may also need to remove lymph nodes in your neck. You may not have any major side effects from surgery to remove a small tumor from your mouth. However, extensive surgery may require major adjustments in the way you chew, swallow, breathe and speak. You may need a prosthetic device in your mouth to replace removed portions of your teeth, gums and jaw. In more advanced cases, you may need to use tubes for feeding and breathing and an artificial voice aid for speaking.
Radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy uses X-rays to kill cancer cells. Doctors may use this therapy alone to treat small tumors or combined with chemotherapy to treat large tumors. Radiation therapy may also be used along with surgery to destroy small amounts of cancer cells that doctors can't remove during surgery.
Chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. You take these drugs either through your veins (intravenously) or orally. The type of drugs and the length of treatment depend on the size and location of the tumor. In the case of a large and invasive tumor, chemotherapy may be used in combination with radiation therapy and in place of surgery.
Angiogenesis inhibitors. Cetuximab (Erbitux) is a medication that stops the growth of new blood vessels that cancers need to grow. This drug has recently been approved for use along with chemotherapy in cancers of the oral cavity.