MILAN (ITALPRESS) – In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in cases of oropharyngeal cancers, that is, those affecting the central part of the throat, including the tonsils and the base of the tongue. In Italy alone, more than 6,000 new cases are reported each year, with a particularly significant increase among men between 50 and 70 years of age, and among young adults, partly due to improper lifestyles. Globally, WHO reports that the incidence of these cancers is highest in developed countries, where it is estimated that cancers related to infection with HPV, the human papillomavirus, account for 60 percent of cases. In the majority of cases, however, the prognosis is favorable. Early diagnosis, along with continuous improvement in care and surgical treatments, are the elements that can make a difference. These are some of the issues discussed by Giuseppe Mercante, full professor of Otolaryngology and director of the School of Medical Specialization in Otolaryngology at Humanitas University, and referent for the Otolaryngology operating unit of the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Group within the Cancer Center of IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas in Rozzano, interviewed by Marco Klinger, for Medicina Top, a TV format of the Italpress news agency. “It’s very important to pay attention to this topic, because in recent years we’ve seen an increase in cases,” he began, “We talk about the throat, and it’s a key area of our body, because it’s a filter of so many things, it’s a crossroads between the airway and the digestive route. Everything that is ingested by us passes through the oropharynx, which is the district of tonsils and base of the tongue.” On the signs of a possible cancer of the oropharynx: “A swelling of the neck should make us very vigilant,” the professor explained, “As adults we have to be careful, it can happen that there are tumor cells started from a mucous membrane in the throat that go to localize in those sites. “Other signs to investigate include other types of throat problems that tend not to regress within one to two weeks,” added Mercante. “For example, a stabbing pain in the throat, and not the simple sore throat, perhaps asymmetrical and therefore localized on one side only. While cases related to smoking and alcohol abuse have declined, oropharyngeal cancers are on the rise due to the papilloma virus: “There has been a dramatic increase in cancers caused by a virus, the papilloma virus, which initially affected only the cervix of women, while now it also affects the throat in both sexes,” he recalled. “Anti-smoking and anti-alcohol campaigns have brought success and a decline in cases, but HPV-related ones have increased,” Mercante reiterated. “You have to be alert to the sensation of having a foreign body in your throat, discomfort in swallowing, that discomfort that after 4-5 days, and with anti-inflammatory treatment, you can see that it doesn’t go away. Vaccines and surgery make it possible to prevent and deal with these kinds of malignancies: “These are viruses that we now know about, we have vaccines available to us. Twenty years ago they were not so available, now they are available free of charge in all regions,” the professor specified. “Before it was suggested to adolescent girls, now it is a virus that affects both males and females, that is why it is important that we get the vaccination. “Vaccination is more than recommended, but there is a proportion of cases due to patients being smokers or drinkers, the indication is to abolish smoking and reduce alcohol. We have not only surgery available, which used to be very invasive and now is no longer, but also radiotherapy, which targets in a very circumscribed way and gives little discomfort,” he recounted, dwelling on the modern treatments in place. “If the disease is small, we can use robotic surgery, we can enter the patient with microinstruments. There are virtually no cuts on the face,” he concluded, “At the limit, only lymph node swellings are treated with cuts, when these are removed at the same time as the removal of the primary tumor.
– photo xd7/Italpress -(ITALPRESS).
