Should I see a laryngeal cancer specialist?

Men and women discussing laryngeal cancer

This page tells you about seeing a laryngeal cancer specialist. You can go to information about

A quick guide to what's on this page
Who should see a specialist
The NICE guidelines
Who needs to see a specialist urgently
If you are still worried

Should I see a laryngeal cancer specialist?

It can be very difficult for GPs to decide who may have a suspected cancer and who may have something more minor. But there are particular symptoms that could be due to a laryngeal cancer. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has produced guidelines to help GPs decide which patients need to be seen urgently by a specialist. GPs are urged to take particular notice of symptoms in smokers over 50 and in heavy drinkers. It is important to remember that

Between 80 and 90 out of every 100 people diagnosed with laryngeal cancer (80 to 90%) develop a hoarse voice
Difficulty and pain when swallowing are also common
Laryngeal cancer is rare, with very few cases in people under 40

Who needs to see a specialist urgently

If you have hoarseness or a change in your voice for 3 weeks or more, your GP should send you for an urgent chest X-ray to rule out lung cancer. If the X-ray is clear and you are still hoarse, your GP will refer you to a specialist in head and neck cancers. You should ideally get an appointment within 2 weeks for an urgent referral. There are now rapid access clinics for hoarse voice in many hospitals. These have been set up so that you can get an appointment more quickly.

Your GP may also send you to a specialist urgently if you have an unexplained sore or painful throat that doesn't go away. Or a neck lump that has changed over 3 to 6 weeks and has not been diagnosed before.

CR PDF Icon You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the About laryngeal cancer section.

It can be very difficult for GPs to decide who may have a suspected cancer and who may have something much more minor that will go away on its own. With many symptoms, it is perfectly right that your GP should ask you to wait to see if they get better or respond to treatment such as antibiotics.

If GPs referred everyone who came to see them to a specialist immediately, the system would get jammed and people needing urgent appointments wouldn't be able to get them. But there are particular symptoms that could be due to a laryngeal cancer. If you have these, your GP should refer you to a specialist straight away.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has produced guidelines for GPs to help them decide which patients need to be seen urgently by a specialist. While reading these guidelines, it is important to remember that

Between 80 and 90 out of every 100 people diagnosed with cancer of the larynx (80 to 90%) develop a hoarse voice
Difficulty and pain when swallowing are also common symptoms
There are a number of factors that increase your risk of developing larynx cancer
Cancer of the larynx is rare – there are about 2,000 cases diagnosed each year in the UK
Very few cases are diagnosed in people under 40

According to the NICE guidelines, you should ideally get an appointment within 2 weeks for an urgent referral.

GPs are urged to take particular notice of symptoms in smokers over 50 and in heavy drinkers. Cancer of the larynx is most likely to be caused by a combination of smoking and heavy drinking. Chewing tobacco (betel nut, pan, gutkha) should also be a cause for concern.

If you have hoarseness or a change in your voice that lasts for 3 weeks or more, your GP should send you for an urgent chest X-ray to rule out lung cancer. If there are signs of lung cancer, your doctor will send you to a lung cancer specialist. If the chest X-ray is clear, and you still have the hoarse voice, your GP will refer you to a specialist in head and neck cancers. There are now rapid access clinics for people with a hoarse voice in many hospitals in the UK. These clinics have been set up so that you can get an appointment, and an early diagnosis of the problem, more quickly.

Your GP may also send you to a specialist urgently if you have

An unexplained sore or painful throat that doesn't go away
A neck lump that has changed over 3 to 6 weeks and has not been diagnosed before

Do remember that some of these symptoms are usually caused by other less serious medical conditions. They do not always mean that you have cancer of the larynx. A hoarse voice can be caused by smoking, shouting, singing or a throat infection.

If you are worried that your GP is not taking your symptoms as seriously as you think they should, you could print this page and take it along to an appointment. Ask your GP to talk it through with you and you may be able to decide together whether you need to see a specialist and if so, how soon.