The three main risk factors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors in my country. Epidemiological data show that it is most common in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Fujian, Jiangxi, etc. It is currently believed that the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is related to genetics, Epstein-Barr virus infection and environmental factors.

1. Genetic factors

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma has a significant racial and familial clustering phenomenon. Studies in the 1970s found that nasopharyngeal carcinoma was related to anti-inflammatory activity of human leukocytes. Clinical studies have also found that children whose parents have nasopharyngeal carcinoma have a risk of developing nasopharyngeal carcinoma dozens of times higher than normal people. The incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in identical twins is exactly the same. The offspring of people from high-incidence areas who move to other places still have a high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

2. Epstein-Barr virus infection

Epstein-Barr virus is a new type of human herpes virus. It was first discovered in 1964 and two years later, the virus antibody was successfully detected in the serum of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. This year, molecular hybridization and polymerase chain reaction techniques were used to detect specific virus antibodies or gene expression products in the serum of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, confirming the important role of Epstein-Barr virus in the occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

3. Environmental factors

Rice and water in areas with a high incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer contain relatively high concentrations of the trace element nickel, and the nickel content in the hair of nasopharyngeal cancer patients is also high. In addition, factors such as nitrite, vitamin deficiency, and sex hormone imbalance can also affect the sensitivity of the mucosa to carcinogens.