Throat cancer

Throat cancer is rare. That is why only a few hospitals treat this disease, for example the Netherlands Cancer Institute. Every year, about 1000 people in the Netherlands get throat cancer. The disease is more common in men than in women. Most of them are over 50 years old.

The risk of throat cancer increases due to:

• Smoke
• Drinking alcohol
• The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
• The Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Other risks include: poor oral care, unhealthy diet, and often having strep throat or an irritated throat. Also, if someone in your family has had head and neck cancer, lung cancer, or esophageal cancer, the risk is higher.

The signs and symptoms of throat cancer are often not very clear, especially in the beginning. Well-known symptoms of throat cancer are, for example: sore throat, swollen glands, swallowing problems and pain or difficulty swallowing. Throat cancer can also cause bloody mucus, pain in the ear or a closed ear. These complaints also occur with other things, such as strep throat or stress.

Because throat cancer is difficult to recognize, it is often only discovered when it has spread.

With hypopharyngeal cancer, you may have the following signs or symptoms:

• A raw feeling in the throat
• Pain in the throat
• A wound in the throat that does not heal
• Difficulty swallowing: choking, pain when swallowing, or difficulty swallowing food
• Bloody mucus
• Lump in the throat, or the feeling that the throat is closed
• A stuffy nose or often a nosebleed
• A swelling in the neck
• Ear complaints: a closed ear, hearing impaired or ringing in the ears
• Pain from the throat to one or both ears

If the cancer spreads through the body or to the glands, we call it metastases. Another word for metastases is metastases. In throat cancer, the metastases are usually in the neck. The treatment of metastatic throat cancer depends on your personal situation.