Can nasopharyngeal carcinoma be treated if it is discovered early? How to treat it?

Is nasopharyngeal cancer treatable if detected early? How is it treated?

1. The early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer are not obvious, so they are easily ignored by patients and doctors. Patients can seek medical treatment immediately in the early stages of nasopharyngeal cancer. If the cancer cells grow larger or spread to the lungs, liver, and bones, the possibility of cure is much smaller.

2. Early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, except for a few occasional runny nose or tinnitus in the morning, basically have no symptoms, but the first stage patients who go to the hospital often have the above ear and nose symptoms or headaches. There are many initial symptoms that promote patient treatment, such as cervical lymph node lumps, ear and nose symptoms, headaches, cranial nerve damage, distant metastasis, dermatomyositis, etc. The order of symptoms and signs: cervical lymph node metastasis, runny nose, nose bleeding, headache, tinnitus, hearing loss, nasal congestion, cranial nerve damage, etc.

3. Because the nasopharynx is the base of the skull, it is easy to metastasize into the skull. The trigeminal nerve, abducens nerve, glossopharyngeal nerve, and hypoglossal nerve are common causes of cranial nerve injury. Bone injury at the skull base is relatively common, and many organs and parts of the body can metastasize, including the spine, pelvis, ribs, lungs, liver, etc. Many metastatic lesions occur simultaneously.

4. Generally speaking, in clinical practice, patients with retracted bloody mucus, unilateral catarrhal otitis media that does not heal for more than three weeks, or lymph nodes above the neck should be considered as having nasopharyngeal cancer, and should undergo a nasopharyngeal examination and, if necessary, a nasopharyngeal dysbiosis to confirm the diagnosis.

5. At present, the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma mainly includes radiotherapy, chemotherapy, surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc.