Understand the common complications of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

We need to pay attention to our nose care methods to avoid bacterial infection. Many people are prone to nasal mucosal infection, which can easily cause rhinitis, which is a blow to the patient's life. When this disease occurs, it must be treated reasonably. So, what are the common complications of nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

What are the complications of nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

1. Difficulty in opening the mouth: It is a common complication of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The incidence of difficulty in opening the mouth is between 5% and 10%, which is related to the high-dose radiation exposure of the temporomandibular joint. Some patients have severe limitations in opening their mouths, which affects eating and speaking. Necessary mouth-opening exercises during and after radiotherapy can reduce the incidence. Within two to three years after discharge, you should insist on daily mouth-opening exercises, such as holding a cork in your mouth, opening an open tube, and opening and closing mouth exercises.

2. Hearing loss and deafness: 8% of patients have obvious hearing loss after radiotherapy, and 3% of patients have bilateral deafness. This is related to the high dose of radiation received by the middle ear and inner ear, and is also a common complication of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. There is currently no effective preventive measure except reducing the radiotherapy dose.

3. Neck fibrosclerosis: Several years after radiotherapy, some patients may develop fibrosis of the neck muscles and skin, which manifests as neck muscle atrophy, thin neck and thin skin. Active neck rotation exercises may reduce its severity. This is a more serious complication of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

4. Dry mouth and tooth decay: These are also complications of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The parotid glands are located deep in the cheeks on both sides. They are inevitably exposed to high doses of radiation during conventional radiotherapy, which greatly reduces their ability to secrete saliva. Even after several years of radiotherapy, it is still difficult to recover. Many patients experience dry mouth and have to drink water every few minutes. They have difficulty swallowing rice. Saliva contains various lysozymes. Reduced secretion leads to the proliferation of oral bacteria. Some patients develop severe tooth decay and tooth damage several years after radiotherapy. After discharge from the hospital, you can boil some Chinese medicine to quench your thirst, or chew saliva alcohol to relieve dry mouth. If dry mouth is not effectively cured, the acid produced by dry mouth will corrode the teeth and cause broken teeth within two to three years.

The metastatic pathways of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the late stage are as follows:

1. Direct spread

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma can extend upward and invade and destroy the skull base bones, with the oval foramen being the most common site. In the late stage, it can destroy the sella turcica and invade the II to VI cranial nerves through the ruptured foramen, causing corresponding symptoms. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma can invade the oropharynx, palatine tonsils, and tongue root downward, the nasal cavity and orbit forward, the cervical spine backward, and the Eustachian tube to the middle ear laterally.

2. Lymphatic metastasis

The nasopharyngeal mucosal lamina propria is rich in lymphatic vessels, so nasopharyngeal carcinoma can metastasize to the lymph nodes. About half of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients come to the hospital because of swollen cervical lymph nodes. It first metastasizes to the posterior pharyngeal wall lymph nodes, then to the deep neck and other cervical lymph nodes, and rarely to the superficial cervical lymph nodes. Cervical lymph node metastasis is usually on the same side, followed by bilateral, and rarely to the opposite side.

3. Hematogenous metastasis

In the late stage, nasopharyngeal carcinoma often metastasizes to the liver, lungs, bones, followed by the kidneys, adrenal glands, and pancreas. When these organs are uncomfortable, the possibility of cancer metastasis needs to be considered.

Warm reminder: I hope everyone pays attention to the occurrence of these complications. Many patients will have difficulty opening their mouths, hearing loss, deafness, and it will also cause cancer metastasis, which will have a great impact on the patients' lives. You need to pay attention to conditioning methods and reasonable treatment to avoid dry mouth and hearing loss. At the same time, you should also pay attention to diet methods.