Research recently published in the British Journal of General Practice has warned physicians and the public to pay attention to symptoms such as daily sore throats accompanied by shortness of breath, earaches and hoarseness.
According to the study, these signs may be an indication of the development of laryngeal cancer , especially in high-risk groups – until then, doctors were usually concerned only with diagnosing patients when they had hoarseness and lumps in the throat.
To reach this conclusion, the study gathered about 800 people with laryngeal cancer to check the status of these patients. In this way, they were able to see similar symptoms of the disease and which were repeated in all cases.
From the result, the researchers noted that patients who had recurrent sore throat were 5% more susceptible to developing laryngeal cancer, and that the likelihood of the disease increases when multiple symptoms appear at the same time.
Hoarseness and altered blood tests, for example, have been observed in some patients by scientists, which represents a 15% chance of being indicative of cancer.
According to the authors of the research, sore throat alone does not mean a manifestation of the disease , as it may have been caused in several ways, but in conjunction with other symptoms it can be a threat .
How does laryngeal cancer happen?
Laryngeal cancer is characterized by the appearance of malignant tumors in the vocal cords and in the supraglottic larynx (region slightly higher than the vocal cords).
According to the National Cancer Institute (INCA), 7,670 new cases were registered in 2018, with approximately 6,390 of male patients, usually the most affected group.
