Treatment Plan

After determining a diagnosis and completing a full pre-treatment evaluation, doctors will recommend a course of treatment for their patients. The treatment plan will depend on the type and stage of cancer, among other factors. Treatment for primary neck cancers usually involves doctors in multiple different specialties. In general, there are three different options for the treatment of primary neck cancers that can be used alone or in combination.

Treatment of primary neck cancers will differ depending on the type of cancer. Often, treatment will include neck dissection.

Some general treatment guidelines for sarcomas and lymphomas are described below.

To learn more about the treatment of different types of primary neck cancer, click the links below:

Sarcomas

Sarcomas of the head and neck should be treated by an experienced team of doctors in radiation, oncology and surgery. If the sarcoma can be completely resected without causing major functional impairments, then surgery is the best treatment option. Specific treatment plans will depend on the stage of cancer:

Stage I

For stage I disease, surgery should be first, followed by radiation, depending on the findings of the surgery.

Stage II & III

For stage II and III disease that can be surgically resected, there are many different options that include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy in any order.

Unresectable Disease

For unresectable disease that cannot be surgically removed without causing major functional impairments, some combination of chemotherapy and radiation is recommended. If some of the cancer remains after the chemotherapy and radiation treatment and it is now able to be surgically removed, doctors may recommend surgery.

Lymphomas

For lymphomas, chemotherapy is the main therapy. Radiation can be used in select cases, and surgery plays a very small role. These cancers should be treated by a team that is  experienced in dealing with lymphomas, since the exact treatment regimens can be very complex. There are many different types of lymphomas, and tumors should be evaluated by a specialized pathologist who can accurately determine the exact type of lymphoma before treatment begins.

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