Nasal cavity cancer treatment at GenesisCare

Nasal cavity cancer affects the space behind your nose, and the nearby air cavities called sinuses. Because of this, you may also know it as nasal cancer or sinus cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, there are about 500 new cases of nasal cavity cancer in the UK each year. However, early diagnosis and treatment can improve the outcome for many.

We are the UK’s leading specialist private cancer care provider. By choosing us, you can be reassured that your treatment will be managed by a team of specialists working together, with you, to decide the best personalised care plan for your diagnosis.
It is our commitment to offer world-class care to every patient with cancer.

There are a number of options of treatment available for nasal cavity cancer at GenesisCare, such as:

• Surgery – removal of the tumour and surrounding tissues
• Radiotherapy – high-energy radiation beams which are targeted at the cancer cells
• Chemotherapy – anti-cancer (cytotoxic) drugs which destroy the cancerous cells

At GenesisCare we diagnose and treat a wide range of cancers, and we understand that this can be a very worrying time. Our diagnosis services are world-class, and our commitment is to give you the answers you need, as quickly as possible. It’s important to remember that symptoms can often be caused by other conditions, not nasal cavity cancer, but whatever your diagnosis we can make sure you get the expert care you need and without delay.

If you’re concerned about nasal cavity cancer symptoms, we offer fast access to specialist nasal cavity cancer diagnostics and expert consultants who specialise in conditions affecting areas in the head and neck such as the nasal cavity, nasopharynx and throat. They’ll assess your symptoms and, if necessary, refer you for diagnostic tests such as nasopharyngoscopy, panendoscopy, ultrasound-guided biopsy or imaging scans (including CT, PET/CT, MRI and ultrasound).

The most common symptoms of nasal cavity cancer are:

• A persistent blocked nose
• Nosebleeds
• Decreased sense of smell
• Mucus running from your nose or in the back of the mouth

These signs are also more often caused by less other conditions, such as a common cold, making nasal cavity cancer tricky to diagnose.

As your cancer progresses, you may develop some additional symptoms such as:

• Pain or numbness in the face
• Swollen neck glands
• Partial loss of vision
• Double vision
• Watering or pain in one or both eyes
• Difficulties opening your mouth
• Loose teeth
• Ear pain
• Headaches
• Lumps on your face, nose or in the roof of your mouth

Having one or more of these symptoms doesn’t mean you have cancer, but it’s best to speak to your doctor. If you have any concerns, you should seek medical advice or book an appointment through our Rapid Access Head and Neck Service.

Our consultants include expert surgeons from both local and nationally renowned hospitals and will work together with other cancer specialists to decide the best course of treatment for you. If your consultant recommends nasal cavity cancer surgery, this can be arranged conveniently at one of our partner hospitals. You can then continue your other treatments at GenesisCare.

There are various procedures for nasal cavity cancer surgery, and your surgeon will recommend the most appropriate technique depending on the size and stage of your tumour.

Our team also includes specialists such as speech and language therapists who may be involved in preparing you for surgery and helping with your recovery and rehabilitation.

No treatment is without side effects. Your doctor will explain these to you, together with the ways your treatment plan and supportive care can help manage or minimise these.

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is a modern radiotherapy technique that directs beams of radiation in an arc across the treatment area. Together with surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT), it’s possible to precisely target areas of cancer, adjusting the beam and intensity of the radiation dose to allow for movements in the body and avoid healthy tissues. Side effects of radiotherapy occur when healthy tissues receive radiation, so using this technique helps to limit the dose to tissues and organs surrounding the tumour. At GenesisCare, we offer VMAT wherever possible as it is widely recognised to be the highest standard of care currently available for patients needing this type of radiotherapy.

We also offer palliative VMAT radiotherapy for those living with advanced nasal cavity cancer, where it has spread elsewhere in the body, to improve pain and increase mobility. We understand that fast access to palliative care is paramount and can usually provide treatment within 48 hours of a planning imaging scan.

No treatment is without side effects. Your doctor will explain these to you start your course of radiotherapy, together with the ways your treatment plan and supportive care can help manage or minimise these.

Chemotherapy involves the use of cytotoxic (anti-cancer) drugs to destroy cancer cells. It’s not a common nasal cavity cancer treatment, but you may have it before surgery reduce the size of your tumour, or to treat cancer if it has returned after other treatments.

Chemotherapy can also be delivered alongside radiotherapy to make cancerous cells more sensitive to treatment – this is called chemoradiation.

If your cancer has spread to other parts of the body, it’s called advanced or metastatic nasal cavity cancer. At GenesisCare, you can receive palliative drug treatment for advanced nasal cavity cancer, to reduce the size and progress of your cancer and ease any symptoms.

For some advanced cancers, we use specialist tests, such as liquid biopsy or genomic testing, to understand the genetic make-up of cancer cells. This helps us to identify which drugs are available to work against the particular genetic mutations in a cancer, allowing us to start effective treatment without delay.

There may also be opportunities to access clinical trials for the newest treatments for nasal cavity cancer.

No treatment is without side effects. Your doctor will explain these to you depending on your drug treatment, together with the ways in which your treatment plan and supportive care can help manage or minimise these.

Exercise medicine is a personalised programme of carefully planned and supported physical activity that has been shown to improve outcomes for cancer patients, enhancing quality of life and limiting the impact of cancer, such as by improving strength and reducing fatigue. One of our physiotherapists specialising in exercise for people living with cancer will provide a 12-week programme tailored to your needs and supported by our dedicated GenesisCare Exercise Medicine app. They’ll work closely with you to monitor changes in your health and support you throughout the programme to help you get the best results. This is available at selected GenesisCare centres.

We also offer a wellbeing expert and holistic therapies such as counselling, acupuncture, massage and reflexology through our unique partnership with the Penny Brohn UK charity. This service is available to all nasal cavity cancer patients at any of our 14 UK centres.

• Cancer Research UK
• Macmillan Cancer Support
• NHS England