Persistent sore throat may be a sign of cancer

According to a new study, general practitioners with persistent sore throats, combined with shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing or ear pain, should consider cancer as the cause.

At present, it is recommended to study cancer of the throat or larynx in patients with persistent hoarseness or an unexplained nodule.

Weilin Wu of Cancer Research UK, however, said patients should not be alarmed.

"A sore throat alone was not related to laryngeal cancer," he said.

"But most importantly, this study also provides the best evidence to date to support the current recommendation to refer older patients with persistent hoarseness."

The larynx is part of the throat at the entrance to the trachea that helps you breathe and talk.

In the UK, there are approximately 2,000 new cases of laryngeal cancer each year.

The research, led by the University of Exeter, examined patient records from more than 600 GP practices and studied 806 patients with laryngeal cancer and 3,559 control patients. It is published in the British Journal of General Practice.

Lead author, Dr. Elizabeth Shephard, said it was the first glimpse of any symptoms that may be important for laryngeal cancer.

"The benefit of this study is that we have discovered that hoarseness is important for laryngeal cancer, but the risk of having laryngeal cancer increases dramatically when it is badociated with a recurrent sore throat, "she said.

Laryngeal cancer

• More common in men
• Strongly linked to the consumption of tobacco and alcohol
• Early diagnosis improves results
• Radiation therapy, surgery and chemotherapy are the main treatments
• If the cancer is advanced, the patient may have to undergo surgery to remove all or part of the larynx.
• These patients will no longer be able to talk or breathe as usual
• They will breathe through a permanent hole in their neck (stoma) and will need additional treatment to help them find their voice.
• This may include a throat implant or an electrical device that you hold against your throat to produce a sound

Source: NHS choice

One of the authors of the study, Professor Willie Hamilton, was the Clinical Lead for the current guidelines of the National Institute for Excellence in Health Care and Health Care (NICE ).

He said their research was important because it "showed the potential severity of some of the combinations of symptoms previously considered low risk".

"When NICE's guidelines for cancer research were published, there was no evidence that GP practices guided this – nor to inform general practitioners," he said.

But he points out that they are not talking about any sore throat – "the sore throat must be big enough to go to the GP."

"We are all used to sore throats, but sore throats that are reported to general practitioners are already unusual because they have exceeded the standards of the patient."

And it's the combination of persistent symptoms – sore throat, hoarseness, and breathing or swallowing problems – that could be a harbinger, he said.

Dr. Shephard said the study would feed NICE guidelines when they are updated.

"It's critical to select the right patients for referral, so if we call people sooner, we'll be able to diagnose cancer sooner and get the right treatment."