Head and neck cancer

Our service
Type of treatment available
Research and clinical trials
For patients
For clinicians
Sources for further information
Meet the team

Our service

Advice for patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer

Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Dr Amen Sibtain, describes the latest cutting-edge treatments available at Barts Cancer Centre for patients diagnosed with cancers of the head and neck, as well as how to be referred here.

At Barts Cancer Centre, our head and neck cancer specialists use advanced treatments and facilities to treat and support patients with types of cancer affecting their head or neck, which can include cancer of the mouth, throat or larynx.

We provide a multi-disciplinary approach to care, meaning that a range of specialists provide input into an individual patient’s care. We are able to offer medical and surgical treatment as well as supporting patients with a range of therapies before and after treatment.

Type of treatments available

The treatments and equipment used at our centre are at the forefront of modern healthcare. As with all of our services at Barts Cancer Centre, treatments offered will depend on individual cases and the stage of cancer. This will be discussed in detail with every patient by one of our medical team once a diagnosis has been made.

We use traditional cancer treatments including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, along with advanced techniques in surgery to maximise success and recovery for our patients.

Surgery
Surgery is an important treatment for many head and neck cancers, although there are several things to consider. These include a patient’s general health, the stage of the cancer and its position. A crucial deciding factor when considering surgery is how accessible the tumour is. When an operation is possible, it can often be a cure.

Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT)
We are one of a few centres in London that offers IMRT to treat head and neck cancer. This is a very sophisticated method that bends the radiation beams to fit closely to the shape of the cancer. IMRT has revolutionised the non-surgical treatment of head and neck cancer and allows us to target tumours with higher doses of radiation while minimising damage to surrounding healthy tissue. This improves the outcomes for the patient.

Because tumours can move about slightly during treatment, our radiotherapy machines (called linear accelerators) can track the precise position of the tumour before each treatment to ensure that the treatment is focused with pinpoint accuracy.

The treatment also means there is less toxicity, skin reaction, fatigue and a lower risk of osteoradionecrosis (bone damage) and xerostomia (mouth dryness from damage to salivary glands). This delivers a better quality of life for patients during and after treatment.

Research and clinical trials

Barts has been at the forefront of medical discovery since it was founded nearly 900 years ago and today, our research continues to be recognised for its originality, significance and rigour. The results of the work we do here means we are constantly improving the treatments and care we can offer patients.

As well as the latest equipment, Barts is one of a select number of hospitals in the UK with an experimental cancer medicine centre. This gives patients fast-track access to new cancer treatments for head and neck cancers such as targeted therapy drugs and gene therapy which interfere with the way cancer cells grow and, we hope, stop it in its tracks. Not everyone is suitable for these new, experimental treatments and your doctor will be the best person to advise you on this.

We are conducting a variety of clinical and translational research studies in head and neck cancer and looking to set up a national tissue bank in mouth cancer.

On the clinical research side, we are leading the first ever national prospective randomised surgical trial on the treatment of mouth cancer. This is the SEND study, which is evaluating the role of elective neck dissection in early mouth cancers where there is no clinical or radiological evidence of metastasis. This study primarily examines clinical outcomes but also looks at quality of life issues. In parallel with this study, tumour tissue and blood will be stored for future basic science research, which can be correlated with clinical outcomes in the patients studied.

We have also been the lead UK site for an international study evaluating the benefits of intratumoral injection of a chemotherapy agent combined with a novel technique called electroporation. The patients studied have all been patients with recurrent cancer after standard surgery and radiotherapy or those patients who have been unfortunate enough to develop a second mouth cancer.

We are also collaborating with our psychiatry and psychology colleagues to supervise PhD students studying blood and saliva cytokine levels and conducting standard psychological questionnaires with patients with head and neck and colon cancer. This is to evaluate whether we can identify those patients who will experience undue psychological problems following treatment for their cancer and whether the psychological problem and its treatment has an impact on survival and quality of life.

Our clinical oncologists are collaborating with other centres on Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) studies (see above) and have started a clinical study evaluating a novel genetic treatment for head and neck cancers.

In collaboration with the Cancer Research UK laboratories, various innovative studies are being conducted into genetic therapy techniques to treat head and neck cancer.

We have the facilities and surgical interest in photodynamic therapy. Research studies are being developed in this.

If you are a patient and are interested in our clinical trials, please speak to your medical team for more details.

For patients

We ensure that a range of specialists are involved in every patient’s care. We offer a one-stop, multi-disciplinary clinic that allows patients to come in for a single appointment to see all their specialists at one time, providing a comprehensive, integrated service. This approach produces quicker results and provides easy access to the most up-to-date treatments (including rehabilitation) and equipment.

Our oncology dieticians ensure that our patients receive the best support available in terms of dietary requirements. This is particularly important for cancer patients who can lose weight during the treatment process, but who must try to maintain their strength.

For clinicians

We consistently achieve national access targets for patients with suspected cancer and for treatment following diagnosis. Referral criteria and forms are all available on our website, please click here.