Abstract
Background: The incidence and prevalence of malignant nasopharyngeal cancers (NPC) are different in each part of the world. The prevalence of this malignancy is about 0.5 in every 1000 people in the USA, while it is about 20 in every 100 people in China. this difference is due to nutritional, environmental, and genetic factors, especially for endemic regions. This malignancy is more common in men and is often seen in the sixth decade of life. We decided to do this study from the point of epidemiologic, clinical, and radiologic findings in patients with nasopharyngeal cancers.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study of patients who were admitted to the ENT ward with the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma from 2004 to 2014. Thirty-two patients were studied from the point of age, gender, risk factors, clinical and radiologic findings.
Results: Of 32 patients, 26 patients (%81) were male, and six patients (%19) were female. The mean age of the patients was 50.28 years old. Nineteen patients were self-employed, 4 were farmers, 3 were staffers, and 6 were house worker women. %84 of the patients had a negative family history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. %66 of the patients had neck mass, and the second most common clinical finding was nasal obstruction. The most common site of tumor origin was the right lateral wall (%37), and the second was the left lateral wall (%28). Eight patients had erosion of the skull base, and 14 patients had tumor expansion to the paranasal sinuses and orbital cavity.
Conclusion: In patients complaining of a neck mass, nasal obstruction, and headache, nasopharyngeal cancer should be highly suspected. Nasal endoscopy and biopsy of the suspected lesion are needed for correct diagnosis and treatment.