What are the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastases to the brain?

Nowadays, many patients gradually understand that nasopharyngeal carcinoma is very important in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The following small series introduces the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis to the brain.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is one of the most common tumors in China, with Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Fujian and other provinces being one of the most common tumors in my country. The incidence rate in men is 2-3 times that in women, and the age group with the highest incidence rate is 40-50 years old.

Due to the hidden anatomical location of the nasopharynx, the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are atypical, and diagnosis is easily delayed clinically, so special vigilance should be exercised.

The metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma to the brain manifests as fatigue, hemiplegia, hemiphasia, aphasia, ataxia, nystagmus and other clinical symptoms. Metastasis of the sellar region manifests as polydipsia and polyuria. Increased intracranial pressure is a typical manifestation of brain metastasis. Due to the rapid growth of the tumor, severe surrounding edema, and obvious symptoms of increased intracranial pressure, patients will experience a series of symptoms such as headache, malignant vomiting, and drowsiness. CT shows isodense, low-density or high-density shadows, with obvious surrounding edema bands. Sometimes the low-density metastasis is covered by the edema band and is not easy to detect.

Metastatic lesions are ring-shaped or uniformly enhanced on enhanced scans. Enhanced MRI scans help distinguish radiation-induced brain damage from brain metastases. It has been reported that patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma may have solitary metastatic lesions in the cerebellopontine angle, and MRI can sensitively detect metastases in this rare location.

Since NPC is mostly poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, radiotherapy is the first choice, and 60 Co or linear accelerator high-energy radiotherapy is often used. The 5-year survival rate of radiotherapy is about 45%. Local recurrence and metastasis of NPC after radiotherapy is the main cause of death. Some patients who still have local lesions after external irradiation of 60~70Gy can cooperate with intracavitary afterloading therapy.

Through the above introduction, patients can clearly understand the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis to the brain.