With these six symptoms, beware of nasopharyngeal carcinoma coming to you!

The incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is generally concealed, and the early stage of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is generally unconscious. Only a few people have symptoms such as stuffy nose, runny nose with blood, unilateral headache and tinnitus. Late brain invasion, tinnitus, hearing loss, nosebleed, diplopia and enlargement and hardening of cervical lymph nodes may occur. So, what are the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma According to the website of the American Cancer Society (ACS), the risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma include the following seven items:

1. Gender: The probability of male suffering from nasopharyngeal carcinoma is two to three times that of female.

2. Diet: China people living in parts of Asia, as well as residents of North Africa and the Arctic Ocean, eat pickled vegetables, salted fish and bacon, which contain carcinogen nitrite, which may lead to high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Studies show that eating more fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of cancer.

Epstein-Barr virus infection: Most nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells are infected with Epstein-Barr virus, and most patients are also infected with EB virus in their blood. Epstein-Barr virus infection is quite common all over the world, especially among children, and it often causes infectious mononucleosis among American teenagers. Epstein-Barr virus itself will not cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but genetic factors will affect human response to Epstein-Barr virus.

4. Gene: People have different blood types and different tissue types. Studies have found that people with certain tissue types are more likely to get nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This is because the tissue type will affect the immune response, including the response to EB virus.

5. Family history: If someone in your family has nasopharyngeal carcinoma, your risk of getting sick will be higher. As an adult, you should have regular check-ups. However, it is not clear to the medical community whether all relatives have nasopharyngeal carcinoma, genetic factors, environmental factors (such as the same diet and living environment), or both.

6. Smoking and drinking: Many studies show that smoking and drinking will increase the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, especially keratinized nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, compared with smoking and heavy drinking, it has the greatest impact on laryngeal cancer and much less impact on nasopharyngeal cancer.

Pollution of working environment: Studies have shown that exposure to formaldehyde or sawdust will increase the risk of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. But not all studies have reached this conclusion, so the connection in this respect is not clear.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rare in the United States, and there is no simple noninvasive physical examination or blood test to diagnose NPC early, so most American doctors do not recommend screening patients (note: screening is aimed at asymptomatic people). However, in some Asian regions, the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is higher and screening is more frequent. Especially if you are infected with EB virus (much more common than nasopharyngeal carcinoma), or if you have nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients at home, you should check your nasopharynx and neck regularly.

The common symptom of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is 1, with runny nose or blood in sputum.

In fact, the surface of nasopharyngeal tumor is ulcerated and bleeding, which leads to congestion of nasal mucus or sputum (especially sputum sucked back by the nose), and it is rare for a large number of nosebleeds to flow out through the anterior nostril.

2, ear symptoms

Ear symptoms are mainly caused by the dysfunction of eustachian tube, which has the function of balancing the pressure in the middle ear cavity. For example, when climbing mountains or flying, we will feel stuffy in our ears. Opening the eustachian tube by swallowing saliva and yawning to balance the pressure in the middle ear cavity will make us feel suddenly enlightened. Therefore, when nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor invades the eustachian tube, it will produce earplugs, tinnitus, middle ear effusion, hearing loss and other symptoms.

3, nasal symptoms

The symptoms of nasal cavity, sinus and nasopharynx are similar to the clinical manifestations of rhinitis or sinusitis, such as nasal congestion, runny nose, purulent nose, nasal reflux, excessive nasal sound, decreased sense of smell, and foul secretion. It is mainly caused by nasopharyngeal tumor blocking nostril and nasal cavity or tumor ulceration.

4. Neck lump

Cervical lymphadenopathy is the earliest and most common clinical manifestation. It is estimated that 30%~40% of patients have cervical lymph node enlargement as the first symptom, and the cervical lymph node enlargement is as high as 70%~80% when patients see a doctor. This is because the nasopharynx is rich in lymphatic vessels, and cancer cells can easily transfer to cervical lymph nodes or other parts of the body, such as bones, lungs, liver and so on.

5. Head and neck pain

Headaches often take the form of headaches. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is located in the center of skull, separated from sinus and cranial cavity. When nasopharyngeal carcinoma tumor invades sinus, meninges or cranial cavity, it will cause headache, especially on one side.

6, cranial nerve symptoms

The nasopharynx is located in the center of the skull and separated from the cranial cavity by the hard skull base bone. However, there are blood vessels and nerve channels around the nasopharynx, and tumor cells of nasopharyngeal carcinoma often invade the cranial cavity along these channels, causing the headache mentioned above, and even invading the cranial nerves, resulting in its dysfunction.

If the fifth cranial nerve (trigeminal nerve) is damaged, it will cause facial skin numbness; If the sixth cranial nerve (external rotation nerve) is damaged, it will cause eye movement disorder and diplopia. When the twelfth cranial nerve is invaded, the tongue will be paralyzed and atrophied, and the vagus nerve will be damaged, thus causing dysphagia or hoarseness. Besides cranial nerves, spinal nerves and autonomic nerves may also be invaded.

Patients with one or more of the above symptoms should be examined by an otolaryngologist as soon as possible. Otolaryngologists can observe the nasopharynx with conventional nasal endoscope or nasopharyngeal endoscope. Diagnosis can only be confirmed by biopsy. After the diagnosis, it is necessary to determine the clinical stages, including routine physical examination of otolaryngology, nervous system examination, lung X-ray, liver ultrasound, whole body bone isotope scanning, head and neck computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Only after the clinical stage is determined will the treatment be carried out.