Skip Navigation

Treatment of Stage III and Stage IV Oropharyngeal Cancer

For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.

Treatment of newly diagnosed stage III oropharyngeal cancer and stage IV oropharyngeal cancer may include the following:

  • For patients with locally advanced cancer, surgery followed by radiation therapy. Chemotherapy also may be given at the same time as radiation therapy.
  • Radiation therapy alone for patients who cannot have chemotherapy.
  • Chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation therapy.
  • Chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy given at the same time as more chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of chemotherapy followed by surgery or radiation therapy.
  • A clinical trial of targeted therapy (nivolumab) with chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation therapy in patients with advanced HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.
  • A clinical trial of radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.
  • A clinical trial of transoral surgery followed by standard- or low-dose radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy in patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.

Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Navigating Care disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information. This information was sourced and adapted from Adapted from the National Cancer Institute's Physician Data Query (PDQ®) Cancer Information Summaries on www.cancer.gov.

See Expert Resources

The Navigating Care Library includes articles about cancer, chemotherapy regimens and drugs from the the National Cancer Institute and other experts.