Blogs

Most mouth ulcers settle down on their own within a week or two. But a sore on the tongue that's still sitting there past the two-to-three-week mark isn't something to keep waiting out, it needs a doctor or dentist to take a proper look and rule out oral cancer. Oral...

A patient presenting with a neck swelling is commonly evaluated for infection, thyroid disease, lymphoma, or a primary head and neck tumour. Occasionally, however, examination reveals metastatic cancer in one or more cervical lymph nodes, while the original tumour...

Throat cancer in non-smokers is most often caused by HPV infection, specifically HPV-16, which has now overtaken tobacco as the leading driver of oropharyngeal cancer in many parts of the world. Other contributors include heavy alcohol use on its own, chronic acid...

A parathyroid adenoma is a benign growth on one of the four parathyroid glands sitting behind the thyroid in the neck. It makes that gland pump out too much parathyroid hormone, and the extra hormone pulls calcium out of the bones and into the blood. Doctors call the...

There's no single "best" surgery for throat cancer. Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and laser microsurgery suit small, early tumours because they work through the mouth and preserve speech and swallowing without any external cut. Open surgery or a total laryngectomy...

Metastasis of unknown origin in the head and neck usually refers to cervical nodal metastasis with no identifiable primary tumor after initial work-up  most often squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary, or SCCUP. It commonly presents as a neck mass, and the main...

Laryngeal cancer treatment has evolved to the point where preserving the voice box is a primary clinical objective, not a secondary consideration. Early stage disease responds well to radiation therapy, laser surgery, and chemoradiation, all of which clear the tumour...

Robotic surgery for throat cancer, known as transoral robotic surgery or TORS, removes tumours through the mouth using a surgical robot, with no cut on the neck or jaw. A 3D camera and small wristed instruments reach areas like the tonsils and base of the tongue that...

Curing thyroid cancer depends on removing part or all of the thyroid, because surgery is what reliably clears the disease. Keeping the gland is only an option for a narrow group of very small, low risk papillary cancers, which can be tracked through active...