What are the late symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma? The symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer change gradually with the change of the disease, and if the patient reaches the advanced stage, the symptoms are the most serious. If we know the symptoms of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer, we can understand the patient’s physical condition at this time, so that we can give more care to the patient, so let’s introduce what are the symptoms of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer? What are the late symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma? If nasopharyngeal cancer is not treated properly or timely, patients may face the threat of death. Infiltration and expansion of primary cancer, surface ulceration and infection, most patients will have nasopharyngeal, ear, eye and oral symptoms in late stage of nasopharyngeal cancer before death, only the location and size of the tumor determine the late appearance and order of clinical symptoms: if the cancer is located at the top of nasopharynx, blood in the snot will appear first, and when there is a lot of bloody snot, it can be spit out from the mouth, accompanied by nasal congestion and other symptoms. Nasopharyngeal cancer can gradually spread, thus causing damage to several organs of the patient. If the tumor is located in the pharyngeal fossa, tinnitus, ear closure and hearing loss are often seen in the early stage, which can be easily misdiagnosed as cicatricial exudative otitis media or purulent otitis media; if the cancer infiltrates into the eye, it shows unilateral proptosis, diplopia and eye movement disorder; if the cancer infiltrates into the internal pterygoid muscle, it shows difficulty in opening mouth, and if the sublingual nerve is involved, it shows tongue muscle movement disorder and tongue deviation to the healthy side. Symptoms of lymphatic metastasis of nasopharyngeal cancer (1) Firstly, the lymph nodes in the posterior pharyngeal wall are enlarged, and then the deep lymph nodes in the posterior neck are involved and enlarged. (2) Painless nodules are presented below the mastoid process or at the anterior edge of the superior sternocleidomastoid muscle. (3) The lymph nodes on the affected side of the neck are enlarged first, followed by enlargement of lymph nodes on both sides of the neck, and finally an infinite mass in the neck. (4) If the tumor presses the linguopharyngeal nerve (Ⅸ), swallowing will be obstructed. (5) If the tumor presses the vagus nerve (X), it will present articulation obstruction. (6) If the tumor presses the paraglottic nerve (Ⅺ), the tumor will present ipsilateral shrugging weakness. (7) If the tumor presses the hypoglossal nerve (Ⅻ), the patient will have atrophy of the tongue muscle on one side, tend to extend the tongue on the affected side, and have confused speech. (8) Patients may also show numbness of vocal cords, resulting in hoarseness and paralysis of tongue muscle. So, how to diagnose nasopharyngeal cancer? (1) Anterior nasal aperture microscopy After convergence of nasal mucosa, the posterior nostril and nasopharynx can be seen through anterior nasal aperture microscopy, and the cancer invading or adjacent to the nostril can be detected. (2) Indirect nasopharyngoscopy is a simple and practical method. All walls of the nasopharynx should be examined in turn, paying attention to the posterior wall of the nasopharyngeal apex and the pharyngeal fossa on both sides, and the corresponding parts on both sides should be observed in comparison. (C) fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy Fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopy can be performed first with 1% ephedrine solution to astringent nasal mucosa to expand the nasal tract. Then use 1% dicaine solution to surface anesthetize the nasal tract, and then insert the fiberoptic mirror from the nasal cavity, observe on one side, and advance to the nasopharyngeal cavity on the other side. This method is simple and the mirror is well fixed, but the observation of the posterior nostril and the anterior parietal wall is not satisfactory. (iv) Neck biopsy A biopsy of the neck mass can be performed in cases where the diagnosis has not been confirmed by nasopharyngeal biopsy. Generally, it can be performed under local anesthesia, and the earliest hard lymph nodes should be selected during the operation, and the whole mass should be removed with the envelope.