JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announcing that he has throat cancer brings to the headlines a cancer that is apt to greatly rise in the next few decades, a New York head and neck cancer physician says.
“I anticipate we will keep seeing large numbers of HPV-associated throat (oropharynx) cancers because we only just started vaccinating adolescent boys for HPV,” says Douglas Frank, MD, director of the Center for Head and Neck Surgery at the North Shore-LIJ Health System. “That means the people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are exposed to HPV have not been vaccinated. So we probably won't be seeing the benefits of vaccination for some time.”
Throat cancers can be caused by smoking, the human papillomavirus (HPV) or other factors. There are several different kinds of throat cancer including cancer of the pharynx, larynx, voice box, upper throat, lower throat, et cetera. In the cases of cancer in the voice box, there is a potential that that cancer can obstruct a person’s airway and affect their swallowing. In less severe kinds of throat cancers, it can be a mass in a person’s neck that the person may not immediately notice.
The treatment methods for these cancers depend on the stage of the cancer and its location, but options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and a combination of any and all of these.
Throat cancers can be caused by smoking, the human papillomavirus (HPV) or other factors. There are several different kinds of throat cancer including cancer of the pharynx, larynx, voice box, upper throat, lower throat, et cetera. In the cases of cancer in the voice box, there is a potential that that cancer can obstruct a person’s airway and affect their swallowing. In less severe kinds of throat cancers, it can be a mass in a person’s neck that the person may not immediately notice.
The treatment methods for these cancers depend on the stage of the cancer and its location, but options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and a combination of any and all of these.
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