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Screening and Testing for Throat Cancer
Screening tests are often used because they can be helpful in finding cancers early and increasing the chance of surviving these cancers.1 Scientists study screening tests to find those with the fewest risks and most benefits. For many cancers, the chance of recovery is better if the disease is found and treated at an early stage.
There is no standard screening test for throat cancer. Screening may be done during a routine check-up by your dentist or doctor. The exam will include looking for lesions and white or red patches of cells that have the potential to become cancerous.
If your doctor does find lesions in the mouth, the following procedures may be used to locate abnormal tissue that may develop into cancer:
Toluidine blue stain
Lesions in the mouth are coated with a blue dye. Areas that stain darker are more likely to be cancerous or become cancer.
Fluorescence staining
Lesions in the mouth are viewed using a special light. After the patient uses a fluorescent mouth rinse, normal tissue looks different from abnormal tissue when seen under the light.
Exfoliative cytology
Cells from the lip or oral cavity are collected. A piece of cotton, a brush, or small wooden stick is used to gently scrape cells from the lips, tongue, mouth, or throat. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal.
Brush biopsy
Cells are removed using a brush designed to collect cells from all layers of a lesion. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal.
Learn More
Learn more about treatment options for throat cancer.
- O’Malley Jr. B, Weinstein GS, Snyder W, Hockstein, NG; Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) for Base Tongue Neoplasms, Laryngoscope 116: August 2006.
- Weinstein GS, O’Malley Jr. BW, Synder W, Sherman E, Quon H; Transoral Robotic Surgery, Radical Tonsillectomy; Arch Otolaryngol. Head Neck Surg/Vol. 133 (No. 12), Dec 2007.
- Weinstein GS,O’Malley Jr BS, Desai SC, Quon H; Transoral robotic surgery: does the ends justify the means? Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery,17:126–131, 2009.
- Boudreaux BA, Rosenthal EL, Magnuson SJ, Newman RJ,, Desmond RA, Clemons L, Carroll WR; Robot-Assisted Surgery for Upper Aerodigestive Tract Neoplasms; Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg/Vol 135 (No. 4), Apr 2009.
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