What are the symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer and what should we pay attention to in our diet

What are the symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer? What should I pay attention to in my diet?

The symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are specific, and the following is a brief introduction:

1. Facial numbness: refers to numbness of the facial skin. Clinical examination shows decreased or absent pain and tactile sensation. Tumor invasion of the cavernous sinus often causes damage to the first or second branch of the trigeminal nerve; tumor invasion of the oval foramen, the anterior area of ​​the styloid process, and the third branch of the trigeminal nerve often causes numbness or paresthesia of the skin in the front of the auricle, temporal region, cheek, lower lip, and chin. Facial skin numbness accounts for 10% to 27.9%.

2. Nasal congestion: Nasal congestion may occur when the tumor blocks the posterior nostril. When the tumor is small, the nasal congestion is mild. As the tumor grows, the nasal congestion becomes more severe, mostly unilateral. If the tumor blocks both posterior nostrils, bilateral nasal congestion may occur.

3. Symptoms of cervical lymph node metastasis: NPC is prone to cervical lymph node metastasis, accounting for about 60.3% to 86.1%, of which half are bilateral metastasis. Cervical lymph node metastasis is often the first symptom of NPC, accounting for 23.9% to 75%.

4. Tongue muscle atrophy and tongue deviation: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma directly invades or lymph nodes metastasize to the posterior styloid process or hypoglossal nerve canal, causing the hypoglossal nerve to be invaded, causing the tongue to deviate to the affected side, accompanied by tongue muscle atrophy on the affected side.

5. Distant metastasis: The distant metastasis rate of NPC is about 4.8% to 27%. Distant metastasis is one of the main reasons for the failure of NPC treatment. Common metastatic sites are bones, lungs, liver, etc., and simultaneous metastasis to multiple organs is common.