Treatment Side Effects to Head and Neck Cancer Patients Reduced Using Immunotherapy

Charity fund urges authorities to include immunotherapy as a funded treatment

A survey found that 43 percent of patients with head and neck cancer who had received conventional treatment suffered from 10 or more treatment side effects. Courtesy of Cancer Information Charity Foundation

Head and neck cancer patients suffer many side effects from conventional treatments, research shows such side effects can be reduced by using the recently developed “immunotherapy” treatment.

Hong Kong Cancer Information Charity Foundation (CICF) announced the results of a questionnaire survey on “head and neck cancers” on Nov. 15. It was found that over 80 percent of the respondents experienced eating difficulties, including taste changes, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) and oral ulcers; Respondents who received conventional treatment reported an average of 8.5 treatment side effects, and 43 percent had 10 or more side effects.