• 12/15/2004
  • Austin, TX
  • no attribution
  • news8austin.com

Laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers start in and around the larynx, which is often known as the “voice box.” The larynx contains the vocal cords, which vibrate and make sound when air is directed against them. The hypopharynx surrounds the larynx. It’s part of the esophagus or food pipe.

Several types of cancers can form in these two areas. About 95 percent of these cancers start from squamous cells. These are the thin, flat cells that line the larynx and hypopharynx. Squamous cell cancer does not form suddenly. It starts when the cells begin to change. Smoking and heavy alcohol drinking usually cause the changes. The cells then become pre-cancerous.

Most pre-cancers will not become cancers. If the causes, such as smoking, stop, these pre-cancers usually go away. The earliest form of cancer is called carcinoma in situ. This type of cancer has not yet spread to other parts of the body.

Some of these very early cancers go away on their own. Most can be cured by stripping or cutting away the lining of layers of cells. Some are destroyed by a laser beam. However, if the cancers are are not treated, they can spread. While other types of cancer can start in the glands and tissue of the larynx and hypopharynx, they are very rare.

The American Cancer Society said about 10,000 people in the United States will have laryngeal cancer in 2004, and more than 3,000 will die from the disease. There will also be about 2,500 new cases of hypopharyngeal cancer.

Some common symptoms of laryngeal cancer include: a sore throat or cough that does not go away, trouble or pain when swallowing, ear pain, a lump in the neck or throat and a change or hoarseness in the voice.

There are three main types of treatments for these types of cancers including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Sometimes, two or more of these methods are used together.

If doctors believe the cancer can be cured, the goal of treatment might be to remove or destroy as much of the cancer as possible to delay the spread or return of the cancer. Sometimes, however, treatment is aimed at only relieving symptoms.

Doctors from The Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH, are using a new method to treat patients with laryngeal cancer. Dr. Marshall Strome combines cryosurgery and laser treatment to help cure the cancer and, at the same time, save a patient’s voice. Strome uses a laser to remove the tumor and then cryosurgery to freeze any remaining tissue.

“What the freezing does, at least to our knowledge at this point in time, is enables that scar tissue to be less dense, more pliable, and gives us better voice quality,” Strome said.

Strome leaves as much normal tissue as possible, and his procedure often eliminates the need for radiation.

“What’s so meaningful about this for the early cancers that involve the vocal cord is that in two to three hours, instead of seven weeks of radiation therapy, you can have a voice quality that is equal, if not better, than you would see with radiation therapy,” Strome said.