Stages of laryngeal cancer

This is an automatically translated article.

Articles written by MSc, BS. Nguyen Vinh Toan, Interdisciplinary Department - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital

Laryngeal cancer is a very dangerous disease because the signs are not too specific and are common in other diseases. Laryngeal cancer is divided into several stages, each stage will have a different treatment regimen.

1. What is laryngeal cancer?

The larynx is a part of the pharynx, located between the tongue and the windpipe. The larynx contains the vocal cords, which have the function of producing sound, from which this sound will be resonant in the pharynx, nose and create the human voice.
Laryngeal cancer is a disease in which malignant cells appear and form from normal tissues in the larynx. The larynx includes the upper glottis, glottis, and lower glottis. Cancer can start anywhere in the larynx and can invade surrounding tissues such as the thyroid, trachea, or esophagus. It can also metastasize to lymph nodes in the neck, carotid artery, upper spine, and lungs.
What are the causes of laryngeal cancer?
Smoking is the most common cause. 95% of patients with laryngeal cancer have a history of prolonged smoking; Excessive alcohol abuse; Having a family history of tumors or cancers of the head, face and neck; Exposure to carcinogenic chemicals from the environment or workplace such as asbestos or coal dust.

2. Signs to recognize laryngeal cancer?

Symptoms of laryngeal cancer are often nonspecific and can be seen in many other diseases of the larynx. Some common symptoms of laryngeal cancer:
Hoarseness or change in voice; Sore throat or persistent cough that doesn't get better after taking the medicine; Painful swallowing, trouble swallowing; Ear hurt; Palpable lymph nodes or foreign mass in the neck area.

3. What are the stages of laryngeal cancer?

Laryngeal cancer is divided into 5 stages:

3.1 Stage 0 (Cancer in situ)

Appearance of abnormal cells in the lining of the larynx. These abnormal cells can become cancerous and invade neighboring normal cells.

3.2 Stage 1

In stage 1, the cancer has formed and can appear in the upper glottis, glottis or in the lower glottis. Depending on the location, there may be different features:
Upper glottis: usually the vocal cords are still functioning normally, the patient may feel a little stuck in the throat. The glottis: Cancer appears on one or both sides of the vocal cords. The vocal cords work normally. Subglottic: Cancer appears only in the lower part of the glottis.

3.3 Stage 2

The stage where the tumor begins to grow.
If the tumor is above the glottis, it may extend into the base of the tongue or near the glottis. However, the vocal cords are still functioning normally. If the tumor is in the glottis, it may spread upward or downward. The vocal cords at this point are no longer functioning normally, and the patient often presents the first symptom of hoarseness. If the tumor is below the glottis, it will usually spread above the vocal cords or down the trachea. At this time, the patient begins to have difficulty breathing and may affect speech function.

3.4 Stage 3

For tumors above the glottis:
Cancer may begin to break into the inner surface of the thyroid cartilage, the vocal cords are often affected. In this stage, there is usually metastasis in 1 cervical lymph node on the same side as the original tumor, and the lymph node is usually less than 3 cm in size. Cancer can also invade the tongue during this stage. For tumors in the glottis: Cancer that causes vocal cord immobilization or immobilization due to damage deep into the muscular layer of the vocal cords. In this stage, the patient usually has an accompanying cervical lymph node about 3 cm in size.
For tumors under the glottis: The large tumor grows into the lumen of the larynx, causing the patient to have severe dyspnea, often with laryngeal dyspnea, inspiratory dyspnea and even at rest. Placing the ear near the patient's airway can hear the hiss of air as it passes through the slit.

3.5 Stage 4

This stage is divided into 3 subgroups 4a, 4b and 4c
Stage 4a: Cancer has destroyed the thyroid cartilage and/or has penetrated the larynx to areas such as subcutaneous soft tissue, trachea, thyroid gland , Esophageal. Patients usually have a large cervical lymph node with a size of 3-6 cm, sometimes > 6 cm and located on both sides of the neck. Stage 4b: Cancer has spread to the front of the spine, around the carotid artery. The vocal cords are completely immobilized on one or both sides of the vocal cords. The patient has multiple bilateral cervical lymph nodes, the largest of which may be > 6 cm in size. Stage 4c: The cancer has spread to many parts of the body, including the lungs, liver, or bones. Early cancer screening is considered the perfect measure in timely detection and treatment of cancers. Vinmec International General Hospital currently has a high-tech cancer screening and examination package, including genetic testing, imaging, and biomarkers for early tumor detection. A single gene test can assess the risk of 16 common cancers in both men and women (lung cancer, laryngeal cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer) , cervical cancer , stomach cancer , prostate cancer ,....)

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