Treatments for Ear Cancer
Ear cancer treatment looks different for everyone. We personalize your care, depending on the size and severity of the ear tumor. Our compassionate cancer specialists apply their expertise and the most advanced technologies to maximize your well-being.
- Specialized expertise: You'll see providers at our world-renowned Stanford Health Care Ear, Nose, and Throat Program. We diagnose all types of ear cancer and know how to successfully treat ear tumors.
- Innovative treatments: We offer advanced treatments for ear tumors that require in-depth knowledge and surgical expertise.
- A collaborative team: Our ENT, cancer, hearing, and balance specialists, along with other supportive team members, work together to provide compassionate care that prioritizes your needs.
- Clinical trials: Our active cancer research program gives eligible patients early access to promising ear tumor treatments available only at Stanford Health Care.
- Ease of access: You can find ear cancer specialists, treatment, and support services at convenient locations across the Bay Area. We make it simple to get the care you need—anywhere and anytime.
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Interested in an Online Second Opinion?
The Stanford Medicine Online Second Opinion program offers you easy access to our world-class doctors. It’s all done remotely, and you don’t have to visit our hospital or one of our clinics for this service. You don’t even need to leave home!
Visit our online second opinion page to learn more.
You and your doctor will discuss the treatment plan that best fits your needs. We will also help manage any complications from ear cancer, such as hearing loss or balance problems.
Active surveillance, also called watchful waiting, means that our team closely monitors an ear growth. We typically use this approach for benign (noncancerous) ear growths. You may not need treatment right away, but we continue checking for signs that the ear growth has worsened, become cancerous, and may need treatment. Your doctor will coordinate regular testing and follow-up visits with you.
Ear cancer treatment usually involves removing the ear tumor with surgery. Our surgeons specialize in advanced microsurgery procedures and complex tumor removal.
The type of ear tumor surgery depends on the location, size, and extent (whether cancer has spread) of the tumor. We may remove cancer tissue from your outer ear skin, ear canal skin, ear drum, or lymph nodes (in your salivary glands or neck). Our surgeons specialize in tumor removal techniques that spare as much healthy tissue as possible.
If ear cancer affects your temporal bone or facial nerve, surgery may involve removing the bone around the ear canal. At Stanford Health Care, our surgeons take care to ensure the best possible outcome. We focus not only on curing cancer, but also on preserving hearing and physical appearance as much as possible.
In some cases, we may recommend radiation therapy for ear cancer. Radiation kills cancer cells while minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue. You may get radiation therapy before or after surgery to help shrink the ear tumor or destroy remaining cancer cells.
To treat advanced ear cancer, you may need cancer medications. These medications work to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells throughout your whole body.
We most commonly use a group of strong drugs called chemotherapy for ear cancer. Your doctor may recommend you take these medications in pill form or as an injection into your blood vessels, muscles, or skin.
We may also recommend advanced cancer medications called immunotherapy. Immunotherapy prompts the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. The immune system naturally protects your body from harmful toxins and disease. These medications often work well in combination with other cancer-fighting therapies, such as chemotherapy.
Ear tumors and their treatment can sometimes cause hearing loss. You may experience conductive hearing loss from damage to your outer ear, ear canal, eardrum, or middle ear. You could also get sensorineural hearing loss from damage to your inner ear or auditory nerve.
Hearing aids
We offer hearing aids as temporary or permanent hearing loss treatment. You can choose from multiple types of hearing aids that work by amplifying the sound around you.
Our specialists spend time with you to figure out the type, fit, and settings that work best for you. You may receive a:
- Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aid
- In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid
- In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aid
- Body aid (ear mold connected to a small box you keep in your pocket or on a belt)
Implanted hearing devices
When external hearing aids don’t work well enough to improve hearing loss, implanted hearing devices may help. Our skilled surgeons carefully implant these devices, which include:
- Bone conduction hearing devices: These implants typically help with conductive hearing loss.
- Cochlear implants: These devices help patients with sensorineural hearing loss. You’ll see a surgeon at our dedicated Cochlear Implant Center for a cochlear implant.
Ear cancer, specifically an inner ear tumor, may cause balance problems. You have access to the Stanford Health Care Vestibular Balance Program as part of ear cancer treatment.
Our Vestibular Balance Program team combines the expertise of otologists (ENT doctors), neurologists (brain doctors), rehabilitation medicine specialists, and orthopaedists (bone, joint, and muscle doctors). We evaluate your symptoms and come up with a treatment plan to improve your balance.
Sometimes an ear tumor affects your facial nerve, a bundle of nerve cells that allows you to move your face. When ear cancer changes the movement in your face, we can help. We work closely with the Stanford Health Care Facial Nerve Center to create a personalized rehabilitation plan for you.
Clinical Trials for Ear Cancer
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials for ear cancer.
Open trials refer to studies that are currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants soon. Closed trials are not currently enrolling additional patients.