It’s a cancer arising from tissuelining of throat that includes area behind nose, tonsil, back of tongue, soft palate and upper part of food passage.
Tobacco and its products are the main factors responsible for majority of cases. For certain cases, EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) and HPV (human papilloma virus) may lead to development of cancer behind nose and tonsil respectively.
Yes. In Western countries people are more engaged in promiscuous and oral sex activity. This is the main factor for getting infected with HPV. HPV is known to cause throat cancer.
Throat cancer is curable if detected early and treated timely. Especially if that’s non tobacco origin it has higher cure rates.
Early cancers of tonsils, base of tongue and soft palate can be effectively treated by robotic surgery. It’s a very safe procedure without any major morbidity and early recovery. It can also be done evenif the patients have residual tumors post radiation and chemotherapy treatment. In certain primary cases the robotic surgery allows deescalation of the radiation treatment thus reducing radiation side effects.