How to distinguish early, middle and late stages of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

How to distinguish the early, middle and late stages of nasopharyngeal cancer? Some people think that it is normal to have blood in the nasal mucus. I remember having nosebleeds when I was a child, and sometimes I sucked the bloody snot back. This is actually a bad situation. If this happens frequently, you should see a doctor immediately, because this may be nasopharyngeal cancer, and the sooner you treat it, the better.

Analysis of early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma consistently ranks first in incidence among malignant tumors of the head and neck, and it is easy to misdiagnose in the early stages. This is because the nasopharynx is hidden and lacks specific symptoms in the early stages, while the abundant lymphatic vessels in the nasopharynx provide favorable conditions for the metastasis of cancer cells. However, this does not mean that all "blood in the snot" is nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The director of the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at a certain hospital pointed out that it is actually very simple to distinguish "blood in the snot" from cancer: bleeding caused by dryness of the nasal cavity or nasopharynx often does not last long, while bleeding from nasopharyngeal carcinoma is repeated and continuous, and there are also worsening symptoms, accompanied by tinnitus, hearing loss, ear blockage and other symptoms. At this time, as long as you go to the hospital for a nasopharyngeal endoscopy, you can make a clear judgment at a glance whether it is confirmed.

Another symptom of nasopharyngeal cancer that is often overlooked is migraine. Doctors remind that if the above symptoms are accompanied by headaches, the cancer cells may have metastasized to the brain. Early headaches are generally intermittent, while late headaches are continuous and severe. At this time, patients cannot just go to the neurology department to "treat the headache head", it is best to do a skull base photo or CT scan.

In addition, if a lump appears in the neck that grows rapidly, it may also indicate nasopharyngeal cancer. This is because the internal structure of the nose is complex, and the lymphatic vessels in the nose are like small paths leading to the outside world, causing cancer cells to form swollen lymph nodes in the neck near the back of the earlobe. Director Huang said that if the lump grows to the size of a quail egg in a short period of time, it is best to go to the hospital for a check-up in time.

Analysis of mid-stage symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

1. Painless neck mass

In the early stage of the disease, lymph nodes will appear in the patient's neck, and lumps will gradually form in the middle stage. During this period, nasopharyngeal cancer patients may have one or more lumps of varying sizes on their necks. This is caused by the metastasis of nasopharyngeal cancer to the cervical lymph nodes. They are hard to the touch, have an uneven surface, are inactive, and have no adhesion to the skin.

2. Cranial nerve symptoms

This is a symptom that patients in the middle stage need to focus on, and the health damage caused is particularly serious. When nasopharyngeal carcinoma invades the middle cranial fossa and compresses the adjacent tissues, a variety of cranial nerve symptoms will appear, such as blurred vision, diplopia, fixed eyeballs, and can also cause throat paralysis, dysphagia and sensory disorders, hoarseness, hemiplegia and even atrophy of the tongue.

3. Unilateral headache

At each stage of the disease, the headache symptoms of NPC patients will have certain characteristics. In the middle stage of NPC, the patient's headache is mostly unilateral, and the pain may be distending or dull. This is because the tumor easily invades the brain or destroys the skull base bone.

Analysis of late-stage symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

1. In advanced stage of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, there is more bleeding, and nosebleeds may occur;

2. Tinnitus, hearing loss, and ear blockage that occur in the early stage become more serious in the late stage;

3. In the late stage, the tumor destroys the skull base or spreads inside the skull to affect the cranial nerves, causing persistent migraine in a fixed location;

4. The tumor invades the abducens nerve, which often causes double vision. The invasion of the trochlear nerve often causes inward strabismus and diplopia.

5. In the early stage, the nasal congestion is mostly unilateral, while in the late stage, the tumor blocks both nostrils and causes bilateral nasal congestion;

6. Numbness of facial skin, clinical examination shows decreased or absent pain and tactile sensation;

7. When nasopharyngeal carcinoma directly invades or lymph nodes metastasize to the posterior area of ​​the styloid process or the hypoglossal nerve canal, the hypoglossal nerve is invaded, causing the tongue to be extended to the affected side and accompanied by atrophy of the tongue muscles on the affected side;

8. Advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma may cause damage to the optic nerve or invasion of the orbital cone, leading to decreased or absent vision. Damage to the oculomotor nerve may cause ptosis and fixed eyeballs.