What are the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

As people's living standards improve, more and more cancer diseases are approaching. For example, the common nasopharyngeal cancer. So, what are the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer? What are they?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma refers to a malignant tumor that occurs in the nasopharyngeal mucosa. Most patients are middle-aged, but some are teenagers. Many nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients do not know that they have nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the early stages.

The early symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma mainly include the following:

1. Nasal congestion: About 1/2 of patients have this early symptom of nasopharyngeal cancer. Cancerous lesions blocking the posterior nasal aperture or invading the posterior nasal cavity can cause nasal congestion. The early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer are mostly unilateral nasal congestion. Nasal congestion caused by colds can occur on both sides at the same time or alternately.

2. Bloody discharge: About 3/4 of patients have this early symptom of nasopharyngeal cancer. Most people experience bloody discharge when they forcefully inhale nasopharyngeal secretions during the morning wash. It can also be due to the infiltration and expansion of the primary cancer, ulceration and infection of the tumor surface mucosa, and other early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer.

3. Tinnitus and ear stuffiness: When tumors infiltrate the nasopharynx and compress the Eustachian tube, early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer such as ear blockage, tinnitus and even hearing loss may occur.

4. Continuous headache: About 1/4 of patients experience this as an early symptom of nasopharyngeal cancer, often manifested as persistent headache on one side. It is generally believed that it is caused by nasopharyngeal tumors invading and destroying the bones of the skull base or compressing nerves and blood vessels.

5. Oral symptoms: patients may have loose mouth on one side, drooling, and shallow nasolabial groove, which are mostly caused by nasopharyngeal carcinoma invading the cranial nerves.