Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a rare form of cancer that affects the area at the top of the throat. The Mayo Clinic says that cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma are so rare in the United States that clinical screening for the disease is not done. To diagnose for the condition, a doctor would use a blood test and a biopsy from the infected area.
Identification
The nasopharynx is the part of the nasal passage that is located directly behind the nose and sits directly on top of the throat. It is the part of the pharynx, commonly known as the throat, that air from the nose and food from the mouth passes through. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a cancerous condition that strikes that part of the body. According to the Mayo Clinic, instances of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the United States are relatively rare, however it is much more common in some countries in Asia and northern Africa.
Effects
Symptoms surrounding nasopharyngeal carcinoma usually affect only one side of the body. These symptoms include a persistent ringing or whistling in one ear known as tinnitus, nasal congestion that would affect only one nostril and not the other, and pain in the face and neck area that falls on one side of the head. It is also possible that the person may experience a bloody nose, but this may not be limited to just the nostril that is congested due to nasopharyngeal carcinoma symptoms.
Potential
Advanced symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma can sometimes take awhile to appear. They include a noticeable lymph node lump on the neck, frequent and severe headaches, vision problems such as double vision or blurred vision and frequent ear infections. It is also possible that the tinnitus that was experienced in the earlier symptoms may progress to loss of hearing in the affected ear. As the condition progresses a sore throat may become evident that will become increasingly more painful over time.
Prevention/Solution
In most cases nasopharyngeal carcinoma can be difficult to diagnose because it is so rare in the United States and because many of the initial symptoms mimic other less dangerous conditions. By the time nasopharyngeal carcinoma is diagnosed it has normally spread to other parts of the body. To treat this condition a doctor will normally use chemotherapy medication, radiation treatment or some combination of the two. Surgery is not often considered as a viable treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Considerations
Ohio Health lists some of the risk factors that increase the possibility of contracting nasopharyngeal carcinoma as eating foods that are cured by salt such as fish, and preserved meats due to the high nitrate count; and the Epstein-Barr virus, which is an infection that creates many of the same symptoms as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The Epstein-Barr virus is often found in the cancerous cells that make up nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
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