What are the symptoms of late stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma

What are the symptoms of late-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma? Nowadays, although our living standards and medical standards are constantly improving and developing, the incidence of diseases has not decreased, especially tumor-related diseases are emerging in an endless stream. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a relatively common malignant tumor in my country. Early treatment has significant effects. Once it develops to the late stage, multiple metastases may occur, which is extremely harmful. Let's take a look at what are the symptoms of late-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

(I) Symptoms of the nose, ears, eyes, and mouth: The infiltration and expansion of the primary cancer, and the surface ulcers and infections, will cause the vast majority of patients (>98%) to experience symptoms in the above-mentioned areas, but the location and size of the tumor will determine the timing and order of clinical symptoms: The tumor is located at the top of the nasopharynx, and blood in the mucus will first appear, and when there is a lot of blood in the mucus, it can be spit out from the mouth, accompanied by nasal congestion, etc. The tumor infiltrates the eyes and manifests as unilateral proptosis, diplopia, eye movement disorders, etc. The tumor infiltrates the medial pterygoid muscle, which manifests as difficulty in opening the mouth. When the hypoglossal nerve is affected, tongue muscle movement disorders occur, and the tongue deviates to the healthy side.

(II) Cranial nerve symptoms: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma infiltrates and spreads upward, which may affect the cranial nerves and cause corresponding symptoms. Clinically, cranial nerves V and VI are the first to be affected. As the tumor spreads, cranial nerves III, IV, IX, and X are also damaged. However, cranial nerves I and II are located in the front of the skull, and cranial nerves VII and VIII are located in the petrous part of the temporal bone, which are less likely to be invaded. The above cranial nerves are affected, which shows loss of function. Headache is often a signal of cancer spreading into the skull. Headache is a persistent, fixed, severe migraine, mostly in the distribution area of ​​the trigeminal nerve, and can be distending, dull, or tight.

(III) Neck signs: mainly refer to the mass caused by cervical lymph node metastasis. Clinically, a painless mass in the neck may be the first symptom or even the only symptom. The mass first occurs on one side, grows rapidly, and then affects the opposite side of the neck.

(IV) Symptoms of distant metastasis: The most common sites of nasopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis are bones, lungs, and liver. Bone metastasis is common in the pelvis, spine, and limb bones. Clinical observations have found that with the enlargement of cervical lymph nodes, the chance of distant metastasis also increases significantly, with a distant metastasis rate of 4.8% to 27%, and autopsy findings as high as 76%. Bone metastasis is often manifested as bone pain, lung metastasis is manifested as dyspnea, hemoptysis, etc., and liver metastasis is liver pain, jaundice, etc.

Most nasopharyngeal carcinomas are moderately sensitive to radiotherapy, and radiotherapy is the preferred treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, for highly differentiated cancers, advanced disease courses, and cases of recurrence after radiotherapy, surgical resection and chemotherapy are also indispensable means. Early treatment is crucial for this disease, and the prognosis is generally poor in the late stage.