Making the Diagnosis
If cancer is suspected, your doctor will first take a medical history, including information about smoking and alcohol use. It's important to mention past use or exposure even if there's none at the present. After a physical exam, the following tests may be performed:
- Laryngoscopy: A flexible tube (fiberoptic scope) is used to check for tumors or polyps in the larynx, mouth, tongue, and neck.
- Computed tomography (CT): A type of scan that allows the doctors to see any abnormalities (e.g., imaging of the neck).
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Another type of scan that can detect abnormalities in the neck.
- Chest X-ray: This test checks for any tumors that may have spread into the lungs.
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan: This test can help define the extent of cancer in the neck, as well as identify any distant areas of spread.
- Biopsy: Removal of a small section of tumor tissue to examine any signs of cancer. The tissue is taken either during an endoscopy or through a fine needle that is inserted into the neck (local freezing or general anesthesia may be used to make
the procedure more comfortable).
Diagnosis also includes determining the stage of the cancer in order to identify how advanced it is.
- stage 0: The cancer has not invaded the tissue and can be removed from the vocal cords without removing any tissue.
- stages 1 and 2: The cancer has invaded the local tissue but is still in the body area where it started.
- stages 3 and 4: The cancer has invaded beyond the local tissue and has probably spread (metastasis) to local lymph nodes, or even more distant sites elsewhere in the body.
- recurrent: The cancer has returned after initial treatment.