What Are the Treatments for Pharyngeal Cancer?

Pharyngeal cancer describes cancerous tumors appearing in the throat, or pharynx. In the United States, about 24,000 people are diagnosed with a type of throat cancer every year. Pharyngeal cancer can be treated with a number of different approaches.

Symptoms

• Symptoms of throat cancer can include sore throat, ear pain, voice changes, cough, difficulty swallowing and weight loss. See your doctor if you experience new symptoms like these for more than two weeks.

Surgery

• Pharyngeal cancer can sometimes be removed with surgery, especially during the early stages of the cancer. Later, surgery may be performed to remove part or all of the throat.

Radiation Therapy

• Many throat cancers respond well to radiation therapy, which uses radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy may be the only treatment required for early stage pharyngeal cancer.

Chemotherapy

• The chemicals used to kill cancer cells in chemotherapy can make throat cancer more responsive to radiation therapy, so the two treatments are often used in conjunction.

Drug Therapy

• Targeted drugs like cetuximab can alter cancer cells to stop their growth. Medications like these are often used with chemotherapy or radiation therapy.