Clinical features

Symptoms of laryngeal cancer include:

• Hoarseness or change in the voice or ‘frog in the throat’
• feeling of a lump or crumb in the throat
• chronic cough
• difficulty or problems with swallowing – ‘dysphagia’ or pain on swallowing – ‘odynophagia’
• swelling or lump in the neck with throat symptoms
• weight loss (uncommon )
• shortness of breath
• earache with throat symptoms

Hoarseness is the most common symptom of laryngeal cancer and occurs because the tumour has involved or affected the vocal cords. In the case of a tumour on the cords the tumour may be small and at an early stage when the voice change occurs. The tumour may not be on the cords itself but may have stopped one of the cords from moving – a ‘fixed’ cord. If the tumour is further away from the cords it may not affect the cords at all and cause symptoms only when it is quite large such as by affecting swallowing or breathing. Difficulty swallowing and as a result weight loss are more likely to be signs of advanced disease.

Amended November 2008