Nasopharyngeal carcinoma natural history, complications and prognosis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Faizan Sheraz, M.D. [2]

Overview

If left untreated nasopharyngeal carcinoma produces few symptoms early in course. Non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma is associated with a 5 year survival rate of 65%. The common complications of nasopharyngeal carcinoma include airway obstruction, dysphagia and disfigurement of the neck or face.

Natural history

If left untreated nasopharyngeal carcinoma produces few symptoms early in its course. Once the tumor has expanded from its site of origin in the lateral wall of the nasopharynx, it may obstruct the nasal passages and cause nasal discharge or epistaxis.

Prognosis

Non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma is associated with a 5 year survival rate of 65%. ^[1] Prognosis is influenced both by stage and tumour type:

Type I: Keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma - 42% 5-year survival
Type II: Non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma - 65% 5-year survival
Type III: Undifferentiated carcinoma - 14% 5-year survival^[2]

Complications

Complications of nasopharyngeal carcinoma include:

Airway obstruction
Difficulty swallowing
Disfigurement of the neck or face
Hardening of the skin of the neck
Loss of voice and speaking ability
Spread of the cancer to other body areas (metastasis)

A potential complication of radiotherapy is radiation necrosis of the temporal lobes, as well as cranial nerve dysfunction and atrophy and fibrosis of the muscles of mastication and salivary glands.^[3]

References

↑ Richard Cote, Saul Suster, Lawrence Weiss, Noel Weidner (Editor). Modern Surgical Pathology (2 Volume Set). London: W B Saunders. ISBN 0-7216-7253-1.
↑ http://radiopaedia.org/articles/nasopharyngeal-carcinoma
↑ 3. Head and Neck Cancer Imaging. Robert Hermans (Editor), Albert L. Baert (Foreward) Springer; 2006 (find it at amazon.com)

Template:WikiDoc Sources

[Weidner's-1] Richard Cote, Saul Suster, Lawrence Weiss, Noel Weidner (Editor). Modern Surgical Pathology (2 Volume Set). London: W B Saunders. ISBN 0-7216-7253-1.

[2] ttp://radiopaedia.org/articles/nasopharyngeal-carcinoma

[3] 3. Head and Neck Cancer Imaging. Robert Hermans (Editor), Albert L. Baert (Foreward) Springer; 2006 (find it at amazon.com)

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