The cancer is any size but has spread to only one lymph node on the same side of the neck as the cancer. The lymph nodes in the area may or may not contain cancer. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body. It may come back in the oropharynx or in another part of the body. Treatment Option Overview How cancer of the oropharynx is treated There are treatments for all patients with cancer of the oropharynx.
Surgery is a common treatment of cancer of the oropharynx.
A doctor may remove the cancer and some of the healthy tissue around the cancer. A new type of surgery called micrographic surgery is being tested in clinical trials for early cancers of the oropharynx. Micrographic surgery removes the cancer and as little normal tissue as possible. During this surgery, the doctor removes the cancer and then uses a microscope to look at the cancerous area to make sure there are no cancer cells remaining. External radiation to the thyroid or the pituitary gland may change the way the thyroid gland works.