Malignant formations in the oral cavity cause the patient not only expressed discomfort and acute pain, but also significantly affect his social life. Cancer of the sky in an advanced stage completely changes articulation, which changes speech and does not allow normal communication. A disease of this type in most cases is detected in men older than forty years and is the result of metastasis of malignant tumors located in the immediate vicinity of the head and neck.
Main varieties
Medicine divides sky cancer depending on its location, which greatly facilitates the process of diagnosing lesions and helps to obtain more accurate information about the nature of the tumor. By location, all neoplasms are divided into:
- Cancer of the hard palate. Such a malignant formation is found at the border of the oral cavity and nasopharynx. A tumor of this type spreads over the bone structures and eventually passes to the mucous membrane.
- Cancer of the soft palate. Oncology is actively developing in the mucous layer and muscles of the oral cavity.
Classification by tissue structure
According to the structure of malignant neoplasms, it is customary to divide into three main types:
- The cylinder (adenocystic carcinoma) begins to form at the border of the glandular tissue. This type of sky cancer develops very quickly, and also differs in uncontrolled spread, which leads to a change in the structure of tissue cells. In this case, metastases in a short time spread to neighboring areas;
- Adenocarcinoma is formed from epithelial cells and can be located on any part of the hard and soft palate.
- Squamous cell cancer is a pathology that spreads through the mucous membrane. It is usually detected in tumors in the oral cavity of a malignant nature.
Reasons for the appearance
Cancer of the sky may occur due to the impact on the oral cavity of a person of damaging factors, which are usually attributed to:
- The irritating effect of the use of aggressive components that are part of cigarettes, smoking mixtures and alcoholic beverages.
- Regular consumption of hot foods that burn the mucous membranes and alter the structure of cells.
- Chronic sky injuries due to improperly installed dentures.
- In the presence of leukoplakia or papillomatosis, a precancerous state of the oral cavity. Formations of this type are malignant, that is, they change to the state of malignant ones (the above factors only encourage such a process).
Cancer of the sky often takes the form of a secondary disease. This may include metastases that appear in the presence of cancer cells in the neck or brain.
The main signs of defeat
At the initial stage, palate cancer does not provoke special unpleasant sensations in the patient, while he quickly flows to a more dangerous form. Sometimes a patient can, with a gentle touch to the palatal area with his tongue, feel a small bump or seal around which there is a small roller.
It is in the presence of such an initial symptom of palate cancer that it is important to see a doctor, otherwise the effect of late diagnosis and treatment will not be high, and the risks of successfully transferring the disease will be low.
As the pathology progresses and the malignant cells spread, the tumor grows in size, begins to take under control more and more tissues and goes deeper. In this case, the person already begins to appear characteristic symptoms of palate cancer. During a consultation with a doctor, many patients complain of:
- pain in the oral cavity (they can go to the ear, the temples and to the head);
- unpleasant sensations when chewing food - it becomes difficult for a patient with such a disease to chew and swallow, his speech apparatus suffers greatly;
- a person can constantly feel an unpleasant aftertaste in the oral cavity (this is usually a fetid odor);
- problems with speech - articulation during the spread of the tumor formation is reduced, which as a result leads to a change in the mobility of the tongue, the seal does not allow the air to move fully;
- fatigue, partial or complete lack of appetite, accelerated and causeless weight loss.
When examining the oral cavity on a soft or hard palate, you can notice seals, plaques, as well as ulcers of different sizes and shapes. When neglected, blood escapes from the latter, and the septum between the nose and throat begins to deform and collapse. This condition provokes the ingestion of small pieces of food during eating in the nose, as a result of which the patient’s speech becomes more difficult to understand.
Below is a photo of sky cancer at an early stage of development. The image shows obvious changes that the pathology led to.
All signs of cancer of the upper palate and lower palate become only stronger with the spread of the tumor. At the last stage of the development of the disease, the destruction of all tissues in the vicinity of the sky occurs.
Diagnostic measures
At an early stage of the development of the disease, it will be very difficult to independently identify it. Only a dentist can diagnose a disease accurately. For this reason, an examination with this specialist should be done at least several times a year.
At that moment, as a malignant formation in the oral cavity had already spread to a considerable distance, a preliminary diagnosis can be made after a visual examination.
How to confirm the presence of the disease? For this, the treating specialist appoints a number of diagnostic measures to the patient:
- Radiography helps to identify all pathological changes in the bone structures and tissues located nearby with the oral cavity.
- A biopsy is the taking of a small piece of tissue for histological analysis. Such a procedure is important for determining altered tumor cells, as well as the stage of its development.
- Blood analysis. This procedure is prescribed to determine the inflammatory process, as well as symptoms of anemia.
- A radioisotope study that helps to carefully study the structure of the tumor and its internal structure.
- Ultrasound helps to determine cancer metastases and their distance from organs.
If necessary, the patient is prescribed additional modern examinations designed specifically to detect malignant tumors.
Therapeutic measures
The sooner the patient begins treatment of the disease, the higher his chance of a favorable outcome and recovery without complications. The choice of a method for treating a neoplasm will directly depend on the stage of its development, as well as the area of its distribution.
Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy and Surgery
Radiation therapy is the irradiation of a tumor with x-rays. This type of therapy helps to stop the spread of malignant cells. If you start treatment at an early stage, then there is a chance to completely get rid of the disease and return to your previous lifestyle, forgetting about the problem forever. Radiation therapy is most often prescribed before and after surgery.
With chemotherapy, there is a direct effect of cytostatic drugs on mutated cells. They can be introduced into the patient's body using droppers or prescribed for oral use. The effect of chemotherapy in the fight against cancer can only be achieved with its combination with radiation treatment and surgery.
Surgical intervention helps to remove the tumor formation and the adjacent infected soft tissues, as well as bone structures. Most often, after the removal operation, a visible defect remains on the face. In order to eliminate it, you will have to carry out additional plastic surgery. At a serious stage in the development of the disease, the doctor prescribes a comprehensive treatment consisting of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
It is important to mandatory not only treat the cancer of the oral cavity itself, but also determine metastases. The effect of medical therapy will directly depend on the stage of development of the malignant process in the oral cavity.
Preventive measures and forecasts
If the patient promptly consults a doctor, appropriate diagnostic measures are taken and the diagnosis is correctly established, the doctor will prescribe an effective and comprehensive treatment regimen that guarantees 80% complete cure for the disease. When determining a neoplasm at a late stage, in almost 70 percent of patients, metastases appear in the first five years after surgery.
Significantly reduce the risk of oral cancer, including palate, if you lead a healthy lifestyle and give up bad habits: smoking, drinking alcohol and hot tea. It is better to limit yourself to eating too spicy food, but nutrition should be fortified and healthy.
It is also important to monitor your health through an annual visit to the dentist. This minimizes the risk of cancer.
The defeat of the throat and its structure
Sometimes from the sky, cancer cells can spread further and infect other organs, in particular the throat. This is a very vulnerable part of the human body. To begin with, it is important to determine how the throat itself is arranged. This is the colloquial name for the front of the neck, which is located in front of the spinal column. It is on this site that the pathways are located along which oxygen enters the stomach along the delayed path (food moves along the same path).
In this area, the common path for air and food is divided into two separate ones - the esophagus and the larynx, which then passes into the trachea. In addition, near the throat are vessels supplying the brain with blood and passing nearby important nerve plexuses that affect the functioning of the heart. In this area there is also one of the most important endocrine glands - the thyroid gland.
The pharynx is the upper part of the throat, which is located above the larynx. According to the physiological structure, it is divided into three departments. The order from top to bottom is as follows:
- nasopharynx;
- oropharynx;
- larynx
What types of disease do you have?
Almost all varieties of oncology and larynx are squamous. If we consider morphology, then cancer can be classified into:
- non-keratinized;
- keratinizing;
- highly differentiated.
Non-keratinized oncology is spreading rapidly and forms a huge number of metastases, and also quickly grows deep into adjacent tissues. This type of disease is most often diagnosed.
Typically, a tumor is formed in the upper portion of the larynx or in the ventricle of the larynx. Often a tumor passes from one part of the larynx to another. Non-keratinized cancer provokes a decrease in the existing lumen in the larynx, which leads to loss of voice and severe shortness of breath.
In the photo of the initial stage of sky cancer, the first signs of its manifestation are noticeable.
The second variety is distinguished by its cells, which, after some time, become keratinized. This type of tumor is slow in comparison with others. Metastases with the disease almost do not occur. In most cases, the keratinizing type of oncology develops in the area of the vocal cords.
With highly differentiated cancer, the pathological process greatly affects healthy tissues. Treatment of this type of pathology is the longest and most difficult.
Factors leading to the development of the disease are as follows:
- inhalation of toxins;
- work with hazardous chemicals (production of paints and varnishes, repairs and construction);
- improper diet, while in food there is too much salt, few vitamins;
- drinking a lot of alcohol;
- non-compliance with hygiene rules;
- genetic predisposition;
- the development of infectious mononucleosis;
- radiation exposure.
Neoplasm
The disease begins to progress with a small tumor formation, which is localized in the throat, in the layer of the epithelium, which lines the surface of the pharynx and larynx.
If we talk about a tumor in the pharynx, then most often the cancer develops in the nasopharynx. Such localization is considered very dangerous due to the fact that as a result, malignant crusts can grow in the air cavities of the skull.
Over time, the tumor increases significantly in size and spreads to nearby tissues. The disease can as a result go to the lymph nodes, and also lead to the formation of tumor metastases in other parts of the body. As a result, most patients die from severe bleeding from vessels affected by the neoplasm, or from aspiration of food and blood.
A photo of palate cancer and the symptoms that occur at different stages of disease progression are presented below.
Tumor formations can spread to different parts of the larynx - the lower (lower vocal cords), middle (in the area of the passage of the vocal cords) and upper (above the ligaments). The site above the vocal cords is affected in most cases. This place is characterized by the rapid development of cancer and the beginning of early metastasis.
The ligamentous department suffers from tumors in one third of all cases. Usually, at such a position, the tumor formation develops slowly, which helps quickly and in time to begin effective therapeutic therapy.
The ligamentous area is not affected so often - only in three percent of cases. Due to this location, cancer is considered very dangerous and differs in its diffuse type of development.
Of all the cases of cancer of the throat department, neoplasms in the larynx are recorded in 55 percent of all cases, and in the pharynx - in 45.
We examined the features of a very dangerous pathology, its symptoms. Photos of sky cancer were also presented in the article.