What is nasopharyngeal malignant lymphoma and what is the difference between it and nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal malignant lymphoma, many people are not clear about what this disease is and what are its symptoms?

1. Primary nasopharyngeal malignant lymphoma refers to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck that originates from or is limited to the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. In recent years, the incidence of extranodal lymphoma originating from the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses has been increasing year by year, and the clinical manifestations of the disease lack specificity, making it easy to miss or misdiagnose.

2. Typical patients have painless progressive superficial lymphadenopathy; atypical patients mainly have deep lymphadenopathy. The fever is irregular, persistent or periodic; it is often accompanied by lesions in other parts of the body besides lymph nodes, such as tonsils, nasopharynx, gastrointestinal tract, bones, skin, kidneys or nerves, and has corresponding symptoms.

What is the difference between nasopharyngeal malignant lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Nasopharyngeal malignant lymphoma is a huge tumor that may invade the oropharynx or metastasize to the cervical lymph nodes, and requires a biopsy for identification.

The clinical manifestations of malignant lymphoma originating from the nasopharynx are similar to those of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the diagnosis must rely on pathological examination. However, some poorly differentiated ones, especially the small cell undifferentiated type, are difficult to distinguish from nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Even very experienced pathologists cannot avoid misdiagnosis, especially when using light microscopy for examination.

Malignant lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma respond completely differently to radiotherapy. The former can significantly reduce or eliminate local tumors with general radiotherapy doses, while the latter requires large doses to reduce tumors. In clinical practice, the two are sometimes differentiated based on their sensitivity to radiation.