What are the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma lung metastasis? Is radiotherapy effective?

Cancer is caused by the malignant proliferation of normal cells in the human body. Proliferating cells are poorly differentiated, do not have the functions of normal cells, and consume a lot of energy. When cancer develops to the late stage, cancer cells will also metastasize. For example, patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer often have lung metastasis. What are the symptoms after lung metastasis? Is radiotherapy effective?

After nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasizes to the lungs, in addition to the common symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, patients will also experience symptoms of lung cancer. The most common symptom is cough. Cough may be related to intrathoracic complications such as changes in bronchial mucus secretion, obstructive pneumonia, pleural invasion, and atelectasis. When the tumor grows on the bronchial mucosa, which is large in diameter and sensitive to external stimuli, cough caused by foreign body-like stimulation will occur. The typical manifestation is paroxysmal irritating dry cough, which is often difficult to control with general cough medicines.

Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma often cough with blood or blood clots. Because tumor tissue is rich in blood supply and fragile in texture, blood vessels rupture and cause bleeding during coughing. Hemoptysis may also be caused by local tumor necrosis or vasculitis. In addition to coughing and hemoptysis, some patients also experience chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath and other symptoms.

The mechanism of radiotherapy is that the radiation directly acts on organic molecules, generating free radicals that break and cross DNA molecules. Or the radiation ionizes the water in human tissues, generating free radicals that react with biological macromolecules again, causing irreversible damage.

Radiation therapy is the first choice for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. It has a more direct killing effect on cancer cells and causes damage to normal cells. The dose, irradiation range and irradiation course should be carefully selected according to the scope of the lesion and the function of the human body.

Radiotherapy also has a certain effect on lung metastasis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, especially in controlling the invasion range of cancer cells and preventing cancer cells from metastasizing to other places.