Fosun Health’s Head and Neck Cancer Treatment Center mainly targets diseases such as nasopharyngeal cancer, nasal cavity and sinus tumors, oral cavity cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer and salivary gland tumors. It relies on the teams of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, radiotherapy, medical oncology, imaging, pathology and rehabilitation to carry out multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment. Before treatment, the pathological type, local extent, cervical lymph nodes and distant metastasis need to be clarified.
The anatomy of the head and neck is dense, and lesions are often close to the brainstem, spinal cord, optic pathways, cranial nerves, salivary glands, and swallowing and vocal structures. The team will select surgery, radiotherapy or systemic treatment based on the site and stage, and incorporate organ function preservation, repair and reconstruction, and appearance management into the plan if feasible.
When radiotherapy is needed, the center can rely on M6 Cyberknife and VitalBeam to carry out precise irradiation, assist in target area delineation through multi-modal imaging, and combine with image guidance to improve treatment consistency. For patients who lose weight, shrink tumors, or have significant anatomical changes during treatment, imaging re-evaluation can be performed, and if necessary, the fixation method or radiotherapy plan can be adjusted to control the dose to important organs.
During the treatment, the team focused on managing oral mucosal reactions, sore throat, dry mouth, dysphagia, weight loss and skin reactions, and provided oral care, nutritional support, articulation and swallowing rehabilitation. After treatment, imaging, endoscopic and functional follow-up are arranged according to pathology and recurrence risk.
Common treatment pathways for head and neck tumors
1. Nasopharyngeal cancer: The main treatment at each stage is radiotherapy, which can be combined with chemotherapy according to the condition. Modern diagnosis and treatment usually chooses radiotherapy alone, induction chemotherapy, concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy or surgery and re-irradiation after recurrence based on staging, with emphasis on protecting the brainstem, visual pathways, temporal lobes and hearing.
2. Tongue cancer, tonsil cancer and oropharyngeal cancer: radiotherapy can be used in the early stage, and a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be used in the later stage. The actual plan needs to take into account the tumor sub-region, depth of invasion, cervical lymph nodes and functional preservation needs, and arrange primary tumor resection, neck dissection, repair and reconstruction, or radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
3. Malignant tumors of the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses and maxillary sinus: Emphasize the cooperation between surgery and preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy. The team will evaluate endoscopic or open surgery, precision radiotherapy and systemic treatment based on the invasion of the orbit, skull base, nerves and large blood vessels to try to protect the vision, face and nasal function.
4. Laryngeal cancer: early-stage radiotherapy can provide treatment opportunities similar to those of surgery, while mid- and late-stage cancer requires surgery or comprehensive treatment. Those who meet the requirements can be evaluated for oral minimally invasive surgery or laryngeal preservation with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Large or cartilage-invading lesions may require partial or total laryngectomy, combined with swallowing and voice rehabilitation.
5. External ear, middle ear, eye and thyroid related tumors: surgery, radiotherapy or combined treatment. Due to the large differences in pathological types and anatomical locations, plans need to be formulated separately by the head and neck surgery, ophthalmology, thyroid surgery, pathology and radiotherapy teams.
