Can a blood test detect nasopharyngeal cancer?

Can blood tests detect nasopharyngeal cancer? The nose is an important organ of smell. If there is a lesion here, there will be symptoms such as bleeding and difficulty breathing. You should know more about the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer. Can blood tests detect nasopharyngeal cancer? What should I pay attention to?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant tumor originating from the epithelium covering the nasopharyngeal mucosa. It is one of the most common malignant tumors in my country, with a high frequency of malignant transformation and an average natural survival time of 18.7 months. It has a hidden onset and is difficult to detect in the early stages. There are some examination items before the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. If you want to know whether a blood test can detect nasopharyngeal carcinoma, let us first understand the examination items for this disease.

EB virus serological test: Currently, the immunoenzymatic method is widely used to detect the titer of EB virus IgA/VCA and IgA/EA antibodies. The former has higher sensitivity and lower accuracy, while the latter is just the opposite.

Therefore, for patients suspected of NPC, it is advisable to test both antibodies at the same time, which is helpful for early diagnosis. For cases with IgA/VCA titer ≥1:40 and/or IgA/EA titer ≥1:5, even if there is no abnormality in the nasopharynx, exfoliated cells or biopsy should be taken from the site where NPC is prone to occur. If the diagnosis is still not confirmed, regular follow-up should be performed, and multiple biopsy examinations should be performed if necessary.

It seems that blood tests can detect nasopharyngeal cancer. Nasopharyngeal cancer is mainly caused by mental and emotional changes, emotional discomfort, internal organ weakness, insufficient vital energy, inability to adapt to changes in the external climate and environment, or by viruses, smoke inhalation, improper diet, nasopharyngeal diseases, etc.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma can also be detected by blood test. Epstein-Barr virus serological test is one method. The most commonly used method is to detect the IgA/VCA and IgA/EA antibody titers of Epstein-Barr virus by immunoenzymatic method. The former has higher sensitivity and lower accuracy; while the latter is just the opposite. Therefore, for those suspected of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, it is advisable to test both antibodies at the same time, which is helpful for early diagnosis. For cases with IgA/VCA titer ≥1:40 and/or IgA/EA titer ≥1:5, even if there is no abnormality in the nasopharynx, exfoliated cells or biopsy should be taken from the common sites of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. If it is still not diagnosed for a while, regular follow-up should be carried out, and multiple biopsy examinations should be performed if necessary.

After getting sick, we should actively seek treatment, which mainly includes radiotherapy, surgical treatment, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc. Radiotherapy is recognized as the first choice of treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The vast majority of nasopharyngeal carcinomas are poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinomas, which are highly sensitive to radiotherapy. Radical radiotherapy can be used for early and middle-stage cases, and palliative radiotherapy can be appropriately used for advanced cases. Chemotherapy has a certain short-term effect on nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Patients in the middle and late stages often use radiotherapy and chemotherapy in combination, such as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, simultaneous radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the main treatment for advanced cases with distant metastasis. Surgical treatment is only suitable for cases that are insensitive to radiotherapy (well-differentiated) and residual or recurrent cases after radiotherapy.