# Laryngeal Cancer

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class RD26.00 - condition scope only, no dose · Laryngeal Cancer - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526076/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
LARYNGEAL CANCER
Sources: ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class RD26.00 -
         condition scope only, no dose · Laryngeal Cancer - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf -
         https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526076/ · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine
         given in primary care
Review status: REVIEWED against the source listed above  (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (4)
    - A change in voice is usually the earliest sign of a glottic tumour from immobility or fixation
      of the vocal cord
    - Pain on swallowing plus referred ear pain can signal advanced glottic disease  [ear pain ·
      painful swallowing]
    - Painful swallowing is the earliest complaint in supraglottic tumours, with voice change
      developing only once the glottis is involved  [hoarseness · painful swallowing]
    - Late-stage disease across sites brings weight loss, trouble swallowing, aspiration, and airway
      obstruction  [difficulty swallowing · weight loss]
  SIGNS - what you find (7)
    - Nodal spread often feels like a fixed, firm, painless neck lump  [neck lump]
    - The essential exam step is direct or fiberoptic laryngoscopy to view the tumour and check
      vocal cord movement
    - Tenderness over the thyroid cartilage points to direct tumour extension
    - Firm fullness just above the thyroid notch suggests spread into the pre-epiglottic space
    - An immobile vocal fold raises concern for laryngeal or vagus nerve involvement
    - Weakness of the accessory nerve points to spread beyond the lymph node capsule
    - Tongue or hypoglossal nerve weakness suggests extranodal spread or a large local tumour
  TESTS (5)
    - Diagnosis is confirmed by biopsy at direct laryngoscopy, or fine-needle sampling of a
      suspicious neck node
    - Contrast-enhanced neck CT is the standard staging study, showing areas laryngoscopy cannot
      assess
    - For likely advanced disease, chest CT and PET/CT look for spread to distant organs
    - Suspected spread into the oesophagus or hypopharynx warrants endoscopy or a barium swallow
      study
    - Baseline bloodwork before treatment covers a full blood count, platelets, liver and kidney
      panels, blood type, thyroid function, electrolytes, and albumin
  IF NOT THIS - what else fits (12)
    - A viral or other upper respiratory infection can mimic laryngeal cancer in a high-risk patient
    - Reflux (LPR/GERD) is a frequent mimic, especially in smokers, though it is no longer viewed as
      a true cause
    - Reactive lymphadenitis
    - A benign laryngeal tumour
    - Fungal laryngitis
    - A vocal cord polyp
    - A vocal cord nodule (singer's nodule)
    - Reinke oedema
    - Granulomatous disease such as Wegener granulomatosis
    - Sarcoidosis
    - Laryngeal tuberculosis
    - Syphilis
  Source  StatPearls "Laryngeal Cancer" - disease-level clinical article
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)    [1st line]
   Adult    Malignancy of the larynx, strongly associated with smoking and alcohol use, presenting
            with persistent hoarseness; the GP's role is early recognition and urgent ENT/oncology
            referral, with analgesia for symptom control alongside specialist treatment. - Refer,
            with advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      Malignancy of the larynx, strongly associated with smoking and alcohol use, presenting
            with persistent hoarseness; the GP's role is early recognition and urgent ENT/oncology
            referral, with analgesia for symptom control alongside specialist treatment.
   Caution  No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
            RED FLAG - Beyond persistent hoarseness: odynophagia with referred ear pain indicates
            advanced disease, and a fixed painless neck mass is a nodal metastasis presentation.
            RED FLAG - The late-stage warning symptoms that should also prompt urgent action are
            weight loss, dysphagia, aspiration, and airway compromise.
            RED FLAG - Hoarseness persisting beyond three weeks, especially in a smoker, stridor, or
            a new neck lump.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

---

Dawaa Reference is a reference for prescribers, not a medical device, and does not replace clinical judgement.

[Privacy policy](/privacy)