Symptoms of mid- and late-stage laryngeal cancer

Laryngeal cancer is a common malignant tumor of the larynx. Laryngeal cancer is divided into three types according to the different anatomical sites of the disease, namely glottic cancer, supraglottic cancer and subglottic cancer. Surgery is the main treatment for laryngeal cancer. If laryngeal cancer enters the late stage, surgery is not possible and only symptomatic treatment is available.

Hoarseness is a common early symptom of glottic laryngeal cancer. The early symptoms of the other two types of laryngeal cancer are not obvious, with only a foreign body sensation in the throat or even no symptoms at all. Therefore, they are easily ignored by people, so that once discovered, they may have entered the late stage. So what are the symptoms of laryngeal cancer in the late stage? The following is a detailed introduction for everyone.

1. Severe hoarseness or even loss of voice.

In the late stage of laryngeal cancer, the vocal cord mucosa and even the vocal cord muscles are severely invaded, the vocal cords will be fixed, the hoarseness will be more serious, and even the voice will be unable to be uttered.

2. Difficulty breathing.

In the late stage of laryngeal cancer, the tumor grows larger, which can cause glottis obstruction and vocal cord fixation. At this time, there will be severe breathing difficulties and the three-depression sign (i.e., when inhaling, due to glottis obstruction, chest expansion, and negative pressure in the chest cavity, the intercostal space, suprasternal fossa, and supraclavicular fossa become depressed).

3. Physical exhaustion and weight loss.

Laryngeal cancer is a malignant tumor, which is a wasting disease. Generally, symptoms such as weight loss and emaciation may appear in the early stage. In the late stage of laryngeal cancer, weight loss is more obvious, and symptoms of "cachexia" often appear, that is, the body is severely emaciated, often forming signs of "skin and bones", facial changes, etc. At this time, the patient may experience failure of various system functions and gradually endanger his life.

4. Pain in the inner ear.

Laryngeal cancer can cause nerve reflex pain in late stage. Early vocal cord tumors generally do not cause reflex pain. Reflex pain mainly occurs in patients with supraglottic tumors in the middle and late stages. When laryngeal cancer develops to a certain level and ulcers and severe inflammation occur in the throat.

The above are the main symptoms of late-stage laryngeal cancer. We hope that patients will pay great attention to it and detect and diagnose laryngeal cancer as early as possible to avoid serious consequences.