Head and neck cancer revisited - "that's cancer until proven otherwise..."

GPs Rebecca and Sarah are joined by Mr Jean-Pierre Jeannon, consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon at Guys & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Hospital, to discuss head and neck cancer in primary care. This episode covers the evolving risk factors, including HPV, and highlights key symptoms such as persistent neck lumps, progressive dysphagia, unilateral ear pain, and non-healing mouth ulcers. The team share practical strategies on examination, when to refer and importantly, how to differentiate between benign and concerning presentations. There’s also an update on modern surgical techniques, prevention through vaccination, and the crucial role of GP instincts in early diagnosis.Recommended cancer key articles: HPV and links to head and neck cancersTips for assessing neck lumps Reviewing a patient with suspected mouth cancerIf you loved this episode and would like to hear more like this, please send your review to [email protected] and share the series with a colleague.GPs Talk Cancer is the podcast series from GatewayC. GatewayC is the free early cancer diagnosis resource funded by the NHS and is part of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. View the full shownotes for this episode at Podcast - GatewayCProduced by GatewayC and Listening Dog Media.DISCLAIMER: We know this podcast might be of interest to anybody, however it is aimed at primary care health professionals. All patient cases are based on real stories from our clinical practice as GPs. They are fully anonymised with no identifiable patient data. All featured statistics are accurate at the time of recording. All views expressed by guest speakers are their own. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.