Nasopharyngeal cancer mostly occurs in the parietal and lateral walls of the nasopharynx, and the lesions can be nodular, ulcerative or submucosal infiltrative, and usually have nasal symptoms, ear symptoms, enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, brain and nerve symptoms, and can also metastasize to distant places. Nasal symptoms include blood in the nose, which may or may not be present, and nasal congestion caused by an enlarged tumour blocking the posterior nostril.
Nasopharyngoscopy reveals a small nodular or granuloma-like elevation with a rough surface, or sometimes a submucosal elevation with a smooth surface, or in the early stages when the lesion is atypical, a congested mucosa, angry blood vessels or a fuller pharyngeal fossa.
In contrast, nasal mucosal erosion occurs mostly in the anterior part of the nasal septum and is due to inflammation and other lesions that cause necrosis and loss of mucosal epidermal epithelial cells and present as moist surface skin damage, the extent of which is limited to within the epidermal layer and leaves no scarring after healing.