Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Disease name: Nasopharyngeal cancer, which is a kind of cancer that affects the tissue linking the back of your nose to the back of your mouth. This region is known as the nasopharynx, and it is positioned at the base of your skull, right above the roof of your mouth. When you inhale via your nose, air passes through your nose, nasopharynx, and throat before reaching your lungs. Nasopharyngeal cancer develops when cells in this region begin to proliferate uncontrollably.

Associated Anatomy

Head and neck cancers include nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The nasopharynx, the top region of the throat behind the nose and towards the base of the skull, is where it begins. When cells proliferate out of control, cancer develops. Cancerous cells can arise in almost any portion of the body and spread to other parts.

Alternate Name:

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma or NPC

Natural Progression:

The median tumour doubling period was 279 days, and the median growth rate was 1.63mm per day.

Nasopharyngeal Cancer Signs and Symptoms 

The majority of patients who have nasopharyngeal cancer discover a bump on the back of their neck. 

Some other symptoms include: 

• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Loss of hearing
• A sensation of fullness in the ears
• Persistent ear infections
• Headaches
• Stuffiness or bleeding in the nose
• Trouble opening the mouth
• Pain and numbness in the face

Many of the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are similar to those of other, less dangerous disorders. As a result, this disease might be difficult to identify in its early stages. If you detect any of these symptoms, make an appointment with your healthcare professional right once.

Nasopharyngeal Cancer Causes 

The specific aetiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is unknown. Certain risk factors, however, can enhance your chances of having the condition, including:

• The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV): The virus that causes mononucleosis is the same one. EBV is commonly found in persons with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Even though the relationship between the two disorders is well documented, not everyone with EBV will acquire nasopharyngeal cancer.
• Foods Cured with Salt: People who consume a lot of salt-cured meat and fish have an increased risk of getting nasopharyngeal cancer.
• Tobacco and alcohol usage: Smoking and drinking heavily might raise your chance of nasopharyngeal cancer.

Additional Types of Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Nasopharyngeal cancer is classified into three categories. They are as follows:

• Squamous cell cancer with keratinisation
• Squamous cell cancer that is not keratinising
• Squamous cell cancer with basaloid cells

Cancer is also known as carcinoma. Squamous cells are skin-like cells that coat the insides of your mouth, nose, voice box (larynx), and throat. Keratin is found in the cancer cells of a keratinising malignancy. Keratin is a protein that is found in your hair and nails.

The most prevalent kind of nasopharyngeal cancer is non-keratinising carcinoma. Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma is quite uncommon.

All of these kinds of nasopharyngeal cancer are treated similarly.

Nasopharyngeal Cancer Stages :

Stage 0: Cancer only affects the top layer of cells in the nasopharynx at this stage.

Stage 1: The tumour has spread to the back of the throat or the nasal cavity.

Stage 2: Cancer has progressed to one or more lymph nodes on one side of the neck at this point.

Stage 3: Cancer has spread to both sides of the neck's lymph nodes.

Stage 4: The tumour has progressed to the skull, eye, cranial nerves, salivary glands, or the bottom region of the neck at stage 4. Nasopharyngeal cancer can spread to other regions of the body at stage 4.

Nasopharyngeal Cancer Diagnosis:

• Physical examination: A general examination is frequently used to diagnose nasopharyngeal cancer. Your physician will inquire about your symptoms. He or she may push on your neck to check for lymph node swelling.
• To look into your nasopharynx, using a camera.
• Remove a sample of questionable cells with this test. Your doctor may also collect a tiny tissue sample (biopsy) to be examined for cancer using the endoscope or other equipment.

Nasopharyngeal Cancer Typical Test

Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is most commonly detected when a patient presents to the doctor with symptoms such as a mass in the neck or a stuffy nose but no signs of a cold. 

The following tests are often performed:

• Nasendoscopy: A thin, flexible telescope (endoscope) is inserted into your nose and passed down your throat to look for any abnormalities; you are usually conscious, but local anaesthetic can be used to numb your nose and throat.
• Imaging scans: MRI scans, CT scans, or PET-CT scans can be used to look for tumours and determine whether cancer has spread.
• Panendoscopy: A more extensive inspection of your nose and throat performed under general anaesthesia (while you are asleep) using a number of small, rigid telescopes joined together. 

Prevention for Nasopharyngeal Cancer:

Although certain risk factors for NPC are uncontrollable, such as ancestry, others may be prevented by changing one's lifestyle. Even for those who have used tobacco products for many years, an essential thing a person can do to lower their risk of NPC is to stop using all tobacco products.

Treatment for Nasopharyngeal Cancer

The type of treatment depends on the stage of cancer. Treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma may include:

• Radiation treatment: High-energy X-rays are used in this treatment to delay or destroy cancer cells. Because nasopharyngeal cancer is extremely susceptible to radiation, this sort of therapy is frequently employed to treat it.
• Chemotherapy: Anti-cancer medications are used orally or intravenously. Chemotherapy is beneficial for malignancies that have spread to other places of the body because it passes through the bloodstream.
• Chemoradiation
• Surgery
• Targeted Drug Therapy
• Immunotherapy

Prognosis:

If detected and treated early, many nasopharyngeal malignancies can be cured. Many factors influence success, including the tumor's location and stage.Nasopharyngeal carcinoma has a five-year survival rate of 61 percent. That indicates that after five years, 61% of all patients newly diagnosed with the disease are still living. Keep in mind that when cancer is detected early, the chances of survival are better.

It's crucial to remember that survival rates can't predict how long you'll live, but they can provide insight based on the experiences of others.

Pathophysiology:

This process starts in the squamous cells that coat the nasopharyngeal surface in nasopharyngeal carcinomas. The exact aetiology of the gene alterations that lead to nasopharyngeal carcinoma is unknown, while variables that raise the risk of the malignancy have been found, such as the Epstein-Barr virus.

Epidemiology

• Age

Although nasopharyngeal cancer can develop at any age, it is most typically detected in adults aged 30 to 50.

• Sex

Nasopharyngeal cancer is three times as common in males than in women.

Risk Factors

Scientists have discovered risk variables that make a person more prone to acquire nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). Among these are:

• Gender, ethnicity, and place of residence
• Diet 
• Epstein-Barr virus infection 
• Family history

Tobacco use, alcohol use, and certain job exposures may raise the chance of developing this disease.

Possible Complications

• Cancer that spreads to other parts of the body. If advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma spreads to neighbouring tissues, including the throat, bones, or brain, it might create difficulties.

• Cancerous tumours that have spread to other parts of the body.