By: Prof. Dr. Seyed Saeid Zamanieh Shahri, MD  and  Prof. Dr. Sonia Sayyedalhosseini, MD

The pancreas is a pear-shaped gland about 15 centimeters (six inches) long in the abdomen, surrounded by the stomach, small intestine, liver, spleen, and gallbladder. The enzymes produced by the pancreas helps in digesting food and the hormones of the pancreas help control our blood sugar.

The larynx is the voice box located above the trachea and is examined using a special tube called a laryngoscope. Laryngeal cancer usually occurs in people over 50 years old. The risk of developing this type of cancer is higher in smokers, but by quitting smoking, the possibility of developing laryngeal cancer in these people is greatly reduced. Hoarseness of voice is one of the important symptoms of larynx cancer.

Laryngeal cancer can usually be treated with methods such as radiation therapy and surgery, and chemotherapy can be used if the disease progresses. But the success rate of these treatment methods depends on the age and health of the patient in addition to the size and location of the tumor. In this article, you will learn more about laryngeal cancer and its causative factors.

Laryngeal cancer (also called throat cancer) is a general term that refers to the development of cancer in the pharynx or larynx. Like other types of cancer, cancer cells grow quickly and after forming a tumor, they can migrate (metastasize) to other tissues of the throat. Some researchers consider laryngeal cancer to be a subset of esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer can cause symptoms such as burning and pain (pressure) in the throat area, which can spread to the esophagus and stomach. Esophageal cancer can also have symptoms, signs and treatment methods similar to laryngeal cancer.

Depending on the location and stage of the cancer, there is sometimes a chance of survival of up to five years. The earlier the cancer is, the better the chance of survival.

Signs and symptoms of larynx cancer:

The signs and symptoms of larynx cancer are different in different people and usually there is no special sign for it. If the cancerous tumor is very small and does not progress quickly, it will probably not have any symptoms. Sometimes a slight inflammation or slight discoloration in the throat area is the only unusual sign of cancer.

If the cancer spreads quickly, there will be symptoms that every affected person will have at least one or two of them, for instance:

• Change or harshness in voice; cough (usually severe); sore throat (usually severe); discomfort in the throat area (the person feels that something is stuck in the throat); swelling in the throat; painful swallowing or difficulty in swallowing; feeling of a lump in the neck; Unexplained weight loss; enlarged lymph nodes; constant production of sputum; breathing problem; difficulty in speech; earache; headache

Of course, the presence of these factors is not a definite sign of laryngeal cancer, but the higher the number of these symptoms in a person, the higher the probability of abnormality in larynx, and it is better to see your doctor as soon as possible.

What factors cause laryngeal cancer? Although the main cause of laryngeal cancer is not known, some genetic mutations cause cells to grow abnormally and turn into tumors. These cancer cells can spread and migrate to other areas. Smoking, human papilloma infection (HPV) and contact with toxic substances such as asbestos or consuming a large amount of alcohol can be among the factors that cause these genetic mutations.

Some risk factors for laryngeal cancer are directly related to people’s lifestyle. For example, smoking or using other tobacco products, excessive alcohol consumption, and vitamin A deficiency can increase the risk of developing laryngeal cancer. Being exposed to asbestos, not observing oral and dental hygiene, and especially infection with HPV, which is a type of human virus, are dangerous factors.