Types of Medication

Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat head and neck cancers are given directly into a vein. Medication is also given orally, by pill or capsule.

Treatment for cancer of the head and neck depends on where the cancer is located, the stage of the disease, and your age and overall health. Chemotherapy can be used initially, or before or after surgery, radiation therapy, or both.

Chemotherapy can have many side effects. Medications to relieve symptoms related to the cancer or to treatment are important during therapy for head and neck cancers. There are several types:

• Opioids alone or in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help relieve severe pain.
• Immediate-release or short-acting opioids can be used for breakthrough pain (moderate-to-severe pain that "breaks through" delayed-release or long-acting opioids or is felt for a short time).
• Delayed-release or long acting opioids can be used for pain that is constant or persistent.
• Anticonvulsants can help control tingling or burning from nerve injury caused by cancer or cancer therapy.
• Antidepressants can be used to treat tingling or burning pain from nerve damage or to complement pain drugs.
• Anti-anxiety drugs can be used to lesson anxiety, as well as treat muscle spasms that often go along with severe pain.
• Antihistamines can help control nausea and help people sleep. They also help control itching.
• Antiemetics help control nausea and vomiting.
• Steroids can help relieve bone pain, pain caused by spinal cord and brain tumors, and pain caused by inflammation. They can also help counteract the loss of appetite and decrease nausea that often accompanies chemotherapy.

New treatments for head and neck cancers are being tried in clinical trials by the National Cancer Institute and are ongoing at different medical centers.

More on Cancers of Head and Neck

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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.