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Fact Sheet: Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
| The American Cancer Society estimates
that approximately 38,000 new cases of head and neck cancer were diagnosed
in the United States in 2002; about 9,000 of these were in the larynx
(voice box).Experts anticipate similar statistics for 2003.
An estimated 3,700 people
died of laryngeal cancer in 2002 representing approximately two thirds of
one percent of all cancer deaths in this country.Even for disease
survivors, the consequences of laryngeal cancer are often severe.Laryngeal
cancer is a preventable disease because the risk factors are associated
with modifiable behaviors.
The causes of laryngeal
cancer
Development of this
deadly disease is a process which involves many factors, but approximately
90 percent of head and neck cancers occur after exposure to known
carcinogens (cancer causing substances) causing a type of the disease
calledsquamous cell carcinoma (SCCA). |
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Smoking: More than 95 percent with
laryngeal SCCA are smokers.Smoking contributes to cancer by causing mutations or
changes in genes, impairing clearance of carcinogens from the respiratory tract,
and decreasing the body’s immune response.Tobacco use is measured in pack-years,
where one pack per day for one year is one pack-year (or one pack per day for
two years, or two packs per day for one year, equals two pack-years).Depending
upon the number of pack-years smoked, studies have reported that smokers are
about five to 35 times more likely to develop laryngeal cancer than
nonsmokers.Other research findings indicate that the duration of tobacco
exposure is probably more important overall to the cancer causing effect than
the intensity of the exposure.
Alcohol:
This
acts as a promoter of the cancer causing process making it another important
risk factor for laryngeal cancer. The major clinical significance of alcohol is
that it enhances the harmful effects of tobacco at a magnitude that is more than
just additive.Essentially, people who smoke and drink alcohol have a combined
risk that is greater than the sum of the individual risks.The American Cancer
Society recommends that those who drink alcoholic beverages should limit the
amount, and one drink per day is considered a limited alcohol
exposure.
Other risk
factors: Certain viruses, such as human papilloma virus (HPV), acid
reflux, and occupational exposure to asbestos likely contribute to causing
laryngeal cancer.Vitamin A and beta-carotene may play a protective role in the
disease process.
| Signs and symptoms of laryngeal
cancer include: |
- Progressive or
persistent hoarseness
- Difficulty
swallowing
- Persistent sore
throat or pain with swallowing
- Difficulty
breathing
- Pain in the ear
- Lump in the
neck
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Anyone with these signs or symptoms, and having
risks for laryngeal cancer, should be evaluated by an otolaryngologist
(ear, nose, and throat specialist).The primary treatment options
include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of these
treatments.
Remember that this is a preventable disease in the vast
majority of cases, because the main risk factors are associated with modifiable
behaviors.Do not smoke and do not abuse alcohol.
Hoarseness or roughness in your voice is often caused by a
medical problem.Contact an otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeon if you have
any sustained changes to your voice.
© 2004 AAO-HNS/AAO-HNSF
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