Clinical Area
Head and Neck Oncology
Multidisciplinary surgical approach to thyroid, laryngeal, oral cavity, and neck cancers — function-preservation as the operating principle.
What is head & neck oncology, and which cancer types does it cover?
Head and neck oncology covers the surgical care of thyroid, laryngeal, oral cavity, pharyngeal, salivary gland, sinus, and neck lymph node cancers. The modern approach is multidisciplinary: a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and ENT surgeon together design a patient-specific plan. Prof. Dr. Hasan Ahmet Özdoğan's clinical principle is to control the disease while preserving speech, swallowing, and breathing function as much as possible.
Multidisciplinary approach
Head and neck cancers rarely fit a single specialty. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy options are combined per case. Tumour-board meetings evaluate every case with radiologist, pathologist, radiation oncologist, and medical oncologist input.
Patient quality of life is at the centre of the treatment plan. Post-operative function — voice, swallowing, breathing — is planned with preservation as the priority.
Sub-topics
Thyroid Cancer
Papillary, follicular, medullary, anaplastic thyroid cancer care.
Laryngeal Cancer
Voice-preserving surgery in early stages; total laryngectomy and rehabilitation in advanced disease.
Oral Cavity Cancer
Surgical resection for tongue, base-of-tongue, floor-of-mouth, lip, and buccal cancers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- No. Neck masses are often benign (lymphadenitis, cyst). Still, any mass persisting beyond 3 weeks warrants ENT evaluation; fine-needle biopsy clarifies the diagnosis.
- Ultrasound stratifies nodules using TIRADS; suspicious nodules undergo fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Cytology guides the treatment plan.
- No. In early-stage disease, transoral laser microsurgery preserves voice. If total laryngectomy is required in advanced disease, rehabilitation via tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis, electrolarynx, or oesophageal voice is possible.
- Every 3 months for the first 2 years, every 6 months in years 3–5, then yearly. Imaging and tumour markers are scheduled per case.
- Existing imaging and pathology reports are shared for pre-evaluation. The multidisciplinary team provides a written treatment plan. If surgery is needed, the travel timeline, in-hospital stay, and downstream radiation/chemo coordination are planned in detail.
- Yes. HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers typically have better prognosis and respond better to treatment. The plan (surgery vs definitive chemoradiation) is personalised by HPV status.
References
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