Throat Cancer Treatment – Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy for Throat Cancer

Once doctors at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) evaluate your condition and determine the location and stage of your throat cancer, in addition to the size of the tumor, they may recommend chemotherapy as a critical component of your cancer treatment. For many throat cancer patients, chemotherapy is combined with another conventional throat cancer treatment (i.e., radiation or surgery).

A medical oncologist, a doctor who specializes in treating cancer with chemotherapy drugs, will meet with you one-on-one to discuss which chemotherapy treatment may work best when it is integrated into your throat cancer treatment plan.

Chemotherapy drugs may be injected into a vein or muscle, or taken by mouth. These anticancer drugs work hard to kill off cancer cells and prevent them from spreading from the different regions of your throat to other organs and tissue.

Chemotherapy provided at the same time as radiation treatment (known as chemoradiotherapy) may help to shrink tumors in areas of the throat that are difficult for surgeons to reach in order to remove the tumors.

Recommended chemotherapy depends partially on where the cancer exists in your throat.
The three regions of the pharynx (throat) are as follows:

Nasopharynx: Common chemotherapy combinations used to treat nasopharyngeal cancer include cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU); cisplatin, epirubicin and bleomycin; or cisplatin, 5-FU and bleomycin.

Oropharynx: Drug combinations that are often recommended to treat cancer in this region of the throat include cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), as well as carboplatin and paclitaxel. Methotrexate and bleomycin also may be used to treat oropharyngeal throat cancer.

Hypopharynx: Chemo drugs often applied to treat hypopharyngeal cancer include the combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and either a combination or single agent use of hydroxyurea, methotrexate, bleomycin, carboplatin and docetaxel.

CTCA offers a wide variety of supportive/complementary throat cancer therapies that help to make the side effects you may experience during chemotherapy more tolerable. Such side effects may include nausea, hair loss and low blood cell counts. At our cancer hospitals and treatment facilities, you’ll receive comprehensive cancer care, which includes nutritional support to help keep you strong during your throat cancer treatment and attention from licensed pain management professionals to help with any discomfort you may be experiencing.

Next Topic: Complementary Throat Cancer Treatments