Mr. Huang is a middle school physical education teacher, leading students in athletics all year round, has always been praised by colleagues for his high energy and strong physique. Six months ago, Mr. Huang unintentionally touched a peanut-sized swelling on the right side of his neck while taking a shower. After a month, he experienced blockage in his right ear and hearing loss, and the swelling on his right neck was larger than before, so he rushed to the hospital for examination after being reminded by his colleagues.
After detailed questioning and examination, he found that his right tympanic membrane was yellowish in color and bubbles could be seen through it; a painless, mobile lymph node the size of a fava bean could be found in the right posterior cervical triangle; and there was a cauliflower-like swelling in the right nasopharyngeal fossa. Based on these manifestations, Dr. Li thought it was middle ear effusion and cervical lymph node metastasis caused by nasopharyngeal cancer. He immediately checked VCA-IgA for EBV and performed a nasopharyngeal biopsy under nasopharyngoscopy. Three days later, the blood test reported VCA-IgA 1/80; pathology report: nasopharyngeal hypofractionated squamous carcinoma. Using a radiation therapy-based treatment plan, after seven weeks of treatment, Mr. Huang’s condition was controlled, the swelling in his neck subsided, and the hearing in his right ear improved significantly, and he was able to go to work soon.
Nasopharyngeal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in South China, and is the only malignant tumor named after the place name “Guangdong tumor”. The cause of its development may be related to certain family tendency, EBV infection, poor dietary habits and genetic changes in the body. The common symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer include nasal congestion, blood in the nose (especially blood in the first breath of sputum in the morning), tinnitus, hearing loss and swelling of cervical lymph nodes, and severe headache and diplopia when the tumor invades the skull and brain in advanced stage. Since the positive rate of EBV immunoglobulin G and A and EBV complement binding antibody in the serum of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma is significantly higher than that of normal individuals and patients with other cancers, it can be used as a diagnostic reference. Regular (3-6 months/time) visits to the hospital with an experienced otolaryngologist to examine the nasopharynx with indirect nasopharyngoscopy is the best way to detect nasopharyngeal cancer. The doctor can find local nodule-like hyperplasia, or local congestion, erosion, mucosal roughness and other abnormalities in the nasopharynx, and then the diagnosis can be confirmed through nasopharyngeal exfoliation cell examination and pathological biopsy.
Due to the rapid development of medical science and technology and the improvement of people’s living standard, the current cure rate of early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer patients reaches over 90%, and the complications after treatment are greatly reduced. After early diagnosis and treatment, many patients have regained their health and returned to work. Nasopharyngeal cancer is no longer an incurable disease, however, the key to treatment is still early diagnosis and early treatment.