Oklahoma doctor shares head and neck cancer risks, prevention tips and treatment options

Dr. Changxing Liu with Ascension St. John Medical Center outlines how Oklahomans can lower their risk of head and neck cancer with lifestyle changes and early care.

What Is Head and Neck Cancer?

“Head and neck cancer, you know, it's a broad spectrum including the skin, then oral cavity, nasal cavity, skull base, oral pharynx, then going down to the voice box and even to the upper trachea and esophagus,” said Dr. Changxing Liu with Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa.

How Common Is Head and Neck Cancer?

According to Dr. Liu, “The most common, without counting the skin cancer, is cavity cancer and laryngeal cancer, which we also call throat cancer, is also common. Overall, without counting skin cancer, it accounts for about four to six percent of all the cancers diagnosed.”

What Does Treatment Look Like?

“The treatments include basically two categories, non-surgical versus surgical,” said Dr. Liu. “Non-surgical treatments include radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. But for head and neck cancer, the majority of them are surgical disease, except some special type, like nasopharyngeal cancer, advanced HPV-related or lymphoma in the head and neck area.”

How to Lower Your Risk of Head and Neck Cancer

Dr. Liu said skin cancer is the most common, and sun exposure is a key factor. “Put on sunscreen if you go outside in sunny days,” he said.

Other significant risk factors include tobacco and alcohol. “Smoking is the most, other significant risk factors, heavy drinking as well, they play together, increase the risk significantly,” he said.

“HPV infection plays a significant role in head and neck cancer nowadays,” he added.

When it comes to prevention, Dr. Liu offered this advice: “Try to stop smoking and no alcohol abuse and use sunscreen all the time if you go outside.”

Resources at Ascension St. John

Dr. Liu said Ascension St. John provides full-spectrum care for these cancers. “So we take care of all types of head and neck cancer, surgical, non-surgical, and we do all types of surgical removal and reconstruction."