Soft Palate Cancer

Overview

The soft palate is located at the upper part behind the mouth and the teeth. Soft palate cancer is a type of throat cancer. It begins when the cells of the soft palate are affected by cancer. The treatment involved is a mixture of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Symptoms

Although a soft palate infection may not be indicative of cancer, soft palate cancer has the following signs and symptoms:

• Bleeding
• Losing weight
• Pain in the ear
• Pain in the mouth
• Mouth sores
• Swallowing pain
• Difficulty swallowing
• Halitosis (bad breath)
• The teeth become not tight fitting
• White patch in mouth
• Swollen and painful neck

If these symptoms persist, consult your doctor or dentist.

Causes

Soft palate tumors begin when the healthy cells undergo genetic mutation and transform into abnormal cells. These abnormal cells divide rapidly and outgrows the health cells forming a tumor. The tumor can then spread to the tissues around it or spread to other areas of the body (metastasize).

Risk factors

These are the risk factors of soft palate cancer:

• Tobacco smoking
• Alcohol consumption
• Being infected with human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection
• Taking immunosuppressant medications.

Smoking tobacco and alcohol consumption pose higher risk.