Head and Neck Cancer
- Treatments
After completion of staging, in some hospitals, patients may be discussed in a multidisciplinary tumour board, comprising surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians. All treatment options will be presented to patients, together with recommendations.
Stage 1 and 2 cancers are considered early-stage disease and a single modality of treatment is usually sufficient. This may be surgery or radiotherapy. Chemotherapy alone is not the treatment of choice for head and neck cancers.
Stage 3 and 4 cancers are considered advanced-stage disease and require multiple modality treatment.
This involves various combinations of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy:
- Surgery followed by radiation
- Surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation
- Chemotherapy and radiation alone
