Nasopharyngeal carcinoma occurs in hidden sites and is adjacent to important tissues and organs such as eyes, nose, ears, pharynx, skull base bone and brain nerve, and has the biological behavior of direct infiltration or lymphatic metastasis to adjacent organs under the mucosa.
1.Cervical lymph node enlargement 40%-80% of patients first have cervical lymph node enlargement as the first symptom; the majority of cases are first found in the upper group of deep cervical lymph nodes, that is, the angular lymph nodes located below the mastoid tip or at the anterior margin of the superior sternocleidomastoid muscle. They are painless, hard in texture, poorly mobile, rapidly enlarging and fixed. Later, the submandibular lymph nodes, middle and lower cervical lymph nodes are also enlarged one after another and fuse with each other to form a huge mass. The neck mass is often misdiagnosed as tuberculous lymphadenitis or chronic lymphadenitis.
In general, this is an early symptom of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Patients usually find that the nasal secretion sucked back to the mouth in the morning has blood in it, which is often mistaken for respiratory tract inflammation and not taken seriously.
3.Tinnitus and/or hearing loss Because the tumor grows near the eustachian tube, it compresses the eustachian tube causing unilateral ear stuffiness and tinnitus, and the tinnitus is mostly intermittent and low-pitched buzzing sound. The tinnitus is mostly intermittent and low-pitched buzzing sound. On examination, it can be seen that the relaxed part of the tympanic membrane is congested and the tense part has liquid flat. Tinnitus and stuffy ears are the early symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer.
4.Nasal congestion Tumor blocks the posterior nostril and nasal congestion appears, starting from one side, and in severe cases, both sides have nasal congestion. In adults, this is a more advanced symptom.
5.Headache Occurrence rate is about 57.2%, which often occurs when the tumor destroys the skull base or spreads into the skull and involves the trigeminal nerve. At the beginning, the pain site is temporal and top of the affected side, which is intermittent. As the tumor progresses, the degree of pain gradually increases, the scope also gradually expands, and the site also changes from intermittent to fixed. The lymph nodes in the upper neck are huge, and due to the increased pressure, it can reflexively cause pain in the occipital area, which is easily misdiagnosed as neuralgia.
6.Difficulty in opening mouth is a symptom of advanced stage. It suggests that the tumor involves the inner and outer pterygoid muscles, and should not be misdiagnosed as temporomandibular joint lesion.
7.Deviation of tongue extension is caused by the involvement of ipsilateral hypoglossal nerve. It is manifested as tongue extension deviation to the affected side and may be accompanied by tongue muscle atrophy.