What are the symptoms of late stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma

What are the symptoms of late stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma? The incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in my country is relatively high, ranking first among ear, nose and throat tumors. It is a highly prevalent malignant tumor, and the harm it brings to patients is immeasurable. Therefore, we need to learn more about the symptoms of the disease and achieve early detection and early treatment. So, what are the symptoms of late stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Late symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer: 1. Tinnitus and hearing loss: Because the tumor in this part of the nasopharyngeal cancer patient will cause infiltration and compression of the Eustachian tube, eventually forming a negative pressure in the tympanic cavity, and eventually find their own symptoms of tinnitus and hearing loss. 2. Headache: The second symptom of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer is headache, most of which are manifested as unilateral persistent pain. Headache refers to a huge headache or pain on the top of the head, and it feels like the head is going to explode. 3. Nasal congestion: When nasopharyngeal cancer invades the nostrils or nasal cavity, symptoms of nasal congestion appear. At this time, you can only breathe through your mouth, or it is very uncomfortable. 4. Eye symptoms: When cancer cells invade the orbits or nerves around the eyeballs, eye symptoms such as visual impairment, protruding eyes, and restricted eye movements are prone to occur.

When cancer cells invade the abducens nerve, the vision will present a double shadow. 5. Tongue muscle atrophy and tongue deflection: nasopharyngeal carcinoma directly invades or lymph node metastasis area behind the styloid process or hypoglossal nerve canal, at this time the hypoglossal nerve is damaged, and finally the tongue is prone to the disease, and the disease will appear tongue atrophy. If the hypoglossal nerve is invaded by cancer cells, then sticking out the tongue becomes a difficult task. I believe that everyone already has a deep understanding of the common sense related to advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after reading the above symptoms. If you find that you have symptoms in your body, it may be advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Although it is much more difficult to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), we still need targeted measures.

(I) Symptoms of the nose, ears, eyes, and mouth: The infiltration and expansion of the primary cancer and the surface ulceration and infection will cause the vast majority of patients (>98%) to experience symptoms in the above-mentioned areas. The location and size of the tumor will determine the timing and order of clinical symptoms. The cancer is located at the top of the nasopharynx, and blood will first appear in the mucus. If there is too much blood in the mucus, it can be spit out from the mouth, accompanied by nasal congestion and other symptoms.

The tumor is located in the pharyngeal recess and other places. In the early stage, there are often symptoms such as tinnitus, ear closure, and hearing loss. It is easy to misdiagnose as catarrhal otitis media with effusion or suppurative otitis media. When the tumor infiltrates into the eye, it manifests as unilateral exophthalmos, diplopia, and eye movement disorders. When the tumor infiltrates into the medial pterygoid muscle, it manifests as difficulty 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. 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. Patients must maintain an optimistic attitude during the treatment process and believe that they can eventually defeat the disease.