Early signs of nasopharyngeal cancer

Dull headache, tinnitus, stuffy nose usually on one side are early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is the leading disease among head and neck cancers and the fifth most common cancer in general. The disease can be cured completely if detected early and treated properly and promptly. In the late stages, treatment brings positive results in improving quality of life and prolonging life.

According to Dr. Mai Trong Khoa, Deputy Director of Bach Mai Hospital, Director of the Center for Nuclear Medicine and Oncology, the rate of nasopharyngeal cancer patients surviving 5 years after treatment is 80-90% in stages 1 and 2, 30-40% in stages 3 and 15% in stages 4. However, 90-97% of patients in our country are diagnosed with the disease in stages 3 and 4.

In the early stages, the symptoms of the disease are vague, discreet and easily misdiagnosed with other diseases. When the symptoms are clear, the disease is already in the late stages.

In the early stages, patients often have symptoms such as:

- Diffuse, dull headache, usually on one side.

- Tinnitus, mostly one-sided, ringing like the sound of cicadas.

- Stuffy nose on one side, sometimes severe, sometimes mild, sometimes nosebleed.

In the late stage, the tumor gradually increases in size and invades the surrounding area, causing the patient to have severe headaches, localized pain, increasing tinnitus, hearing loss, reduced hearing, possibly deafness; continuous nasal congestion, accompanied by nosebleeds, not responding to conventional treatment.

When the above symptoms appear, the patient will be assigned to do paraclinical tests for definitive diagnosis. The cause of the disease has not been clearly determined, however there are many hypotheses:

- Due to virus:Many studies show that the disease is related to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).

Genetic factors:Many cases of nasopharyngeal cancer are found in a family.

- Environment: T-lymphocyte dysfunction associated with chronic EBV infection are two established high-risk factors.

- Food and preparation:Foods processed through fermentation stages such as wine, beer, salted fish, pickled vegetables, and fish sauce contain many nitrosamines related to some types of digestive tract cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer.

- Age and gender:The disease can occur at any age, but is most common between 40 and 60 years old. The disease affects both sexes but is more common in women.

To prevent the disease, people should limit the consumption of fermented foods such as alcohol, beer, salted fish, pickles, fish sauce containing high levels of nitrosamine; have a reasonable diet, eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits. Patients need to have an ENT endoscopy when they have symptoms of nasal congestion, tinnitus, and gradually increasing swelling of lymph nodes on one side of the neck to detect the disease early. Especially, families with parents and siblings with cancer need regular health check-ups.

According to VnExpress