Nasal cancer is a form of head and neck cancer that affects the sinuses -- the small spaces the bones of the skull around the nose. Patients with nasal cancer may suffer from a range of symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, disfiguration of the nose and tissues of the face, and pain as the cancer growth places pressure on tissue in the sinus cavity. Nasal cancer can be treated with a number of therapies to remove the cancer and prevent further cancer growth.
Surgery
Some nasal cancers may be treated with surgery to remove cancerous growth from the sinus cavity. The National Cancer Institute indicates that patients with nasal cancer of the maxillary sinus -- the largest sinus cavity located on either side of the nose -- may require surgery.. During surgery, doctors remove any cancerous growth within the sinus, as well as a small amount of healthy tissue around the site of cancer growth. Depending on the size and severity of the nasal cancer present, patients may require additional cancer therapy in addition to surgery.
Radiotherapy
Some patients with nose cancer may also receive radiotherapy, using a beam of radiation to damage and kill cancerous growth within the sinuses. The American Cancer Society indicates that most patients with nasal cancer receive external beam radiation therapy. During treatment, doctors carefully aim a beam of radiation into the tumors within the sinuses, allowing the radiation to cause massive cellular damage. Over several treatments, administered over a period of weeks, the cellular damage leads to cancer cell death and may eventually resolve the nasal cancer. In rarer cases, patients receive a form of external radiation, called brachytherapy, in which a radioactive probe is inserted into the tumor to kill the cancer cells. Depending on the aggressiveness of the tumor and the radiation treatment, some nasal cancer patients may require additional treatment to induce cancer remission.
Chemotherapy
Many patients with nose cancer also receive chemotherapy -- -a drug therapy used to damage cancerous cells in the sinus. Chemotherapy drugs typically damage or inhibit proteins required for essential cellular processes and stop the cancer cells from dividing, eventually leading to cancer cell death. Doctors may administer a range of chemo drugs alone or in combination, allowing the drugs to treat the sinus cancer over a period of weeks. In some cases, patients with extensive cancer growth may receive chemotherapy to shrink a large tumor to the point that it can be surgically removed. CancerHelp UK indicates that patients with nasal cancer may receive a combination of radiation treatment and chemotherapy to treat their disease. Patients receiving chemotherapy for nasal cancer may develop common side effects of treatment, including fatigue, nausea and vomiting.
