There are four forms of metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Although some people often hear about nasopharyngeal carcinoma in their daily lives, they are not very clear about the relevant knowledge of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. So how much do you know about the metastasis pathway of nasopharyngeal carcinoma? Next, let the experts analyze the metastasis pathway of nasopharyngeal carcinoma for you so that you are no longer unfamiliar with it.

1. Direct metastasis: One of the metastatic pathways of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is that the tumor can expand upwards and invade and destroy the skull base bone, 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. The tumor can invade the oropharynx, palatine tonsils, and tongue root downwards, the nasal cavity and orbit forwards, the cervical spine backwards, and the Eustachian tube to the middle ear outwards.

2. Distant metastasis: The rate of distant metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is relatively high, which is obviously related to whether the primary tumor invades outside the nasopharynx, whether the cervical lymph nodes have metastasized, and the size and location. The rate of distant metastasis is higher when the tumor invades the oropharynx or nasal cavity. The metastatic site can be single or multiple. Common distant metastasis sites are bones, lungs, and liver. Among bone metastases, the spine, pelvis, and limbs are more common. The metastatic pathway of nasopharyngeal carcinoma can also occur in the chest, abdomen, mediastinal lymph nodes, inguinal lymph nodes and other parts. CT examination can detect metastasis to the kidneys, adrenal glands, and retroperitoneum at an early stage.

3. Lymph node metastasis: Cervical lymph nodes account for about 1/3 of the total lymph nodes in the body, especially deep lymph nodes, which are closely related to tumor metastasis. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is characterized by early metastasis of cervical lymph nodes and a high metastasis rate. Metastatic lymph nodes are often multiple, hard masses of varying sizes. Generally, they grow from small to large as the disease progresses, and their number increases. They gradually merge into a huge mass, and their mobility is gradually limited. Usually, the metastasis is from the upper neck to the lower neck. About half of the patients have bilateral neck metastasis, and preauricular lymph node metastasis is less common.

4. Hematogenous metastasis: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma often metastasizes to the liver, lungs, bones, and secondarily to the kidneys, adrenal glands, and pancreas.

The above content is the metastasis pathway of nasopharyngeal carcinoma introduced by experts. Please pay attention to it. I hope it will be helpful to you. If you have other questions about the metastasis pathway of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, please consult online experts, who will give you detailed answers.