The treatment of tumor of the ear canal depends on the size, location and classification of the tumor. Certain benign tumors don't require treatment, while others require surgery. Certain malignant tumors require radiotherapy, while others only need surgery for the removal of the mass. Treatment that involves surgery can disfigure the ear, and treatment involving radiation can cause permanent hearing loss. Early treatment of malignant tumors isolated in the ear canal generally has a positive prognosis.
Benign Tumors
Physicians generally treat benign tumors in the ear canal with surgery to remove the mass. Depending on the size of the tumor, the procedure can be complicated. The UC Irvine Health Sciences, Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery states that a small tumor located on the skin in the cartilaginous ear canal requires the surgeon to simply remove the infected section of the skin of the ear canal. However, if the tumor covers about 60 percent of the inner ear canal or borders the ear drum, a surgeon must perform incision behind the ear to remove the "entire ear canal, ear drum and the first two bones behind the ear drum." Sometimes surgeons must remove the salivary gland located near the ear, lymph nodes in the neck and a portion of the jaw.
MedlinePlus states that in cases of a benign bony tumor --- such as an exostose or osteoma --- located in the ear canal, and doesn't cause pain or interfere with hearing, then the patient doesn't need to undergo treatment because bony tumor can disappear on its own. However, once the tumor grows and causes pain or interferes with hearing, the physician may perform a resection to remove the mass.
Cancerous Tumors
Tumors in the ear canal can turn malignant and require immediate treatment. The Cleveland Clinic states that 85 percent of patients with cancer isolated in the ear canal can expect recovery if treated early. Treatment sometimes includes radiotherapy after surgical procedure if the cancer involves the squamous cells, a type of cancer that readily metastasizes, or spreads, into the skin and lymph glands, says the Ear Surgery Information Center. As for basal cell and low grade glandular cancers, surgeons generally treat these malignancies with surgery to remove the mass without radiation because these types of cancer rarely metastasize, explains the Ear Surgery Information Center.
Effects of Treatment
Depending on the size and location of the tumor, a disfigurement and loss of hearing can occur after surgery and radiation. The Ear Surgery Information Center claims that surgeons can rebuild the missing skin of the ear canal and ear drum through grafting of the skin and fibrous tissue, respectively. However, if the treatment involved radiation, hearing loss could still occur because this form of therapy may have impaired the sensory hair cells.
