Malaysia has a fair share amount of NPC patients. Early detection helps in successful treatment. Blood mixed saliva or nasal discharge mixed with blood are early signs. Sound in the ear or tinnitus is also another early sign of NPC. Patients should see an ENT Specialist with this symptoms.
Screening with endoscope, blood test and maybe CT Scan may be useful.
Treatment Options
High-dose radiation therapy with chemotherapy is the primary treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer, both for the primary tumor site and the neck.[1] When feasible, surgery is usually reserved for nodes that fail to regress after radiation therapy or for nodes that reappear following clinical complete response. Radiation therapy dose and field margins are individually tailored to the location and size of the primary tumor and lymph nodes.[2-5] Although most tumors are treated with external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) exclusively, in some tumors radiation therapy may be boosted with intracavitary or interstitial implants or by the use of stereotactic radiosurgery when clinical expertise is available, and the anatomy is suitable.[6-10] Intensity-modulated radiation therapy may result in a lower incidence of xerostomia and provide a better quality of life than conventional radiation therapy.[11,12][Level of evidence: 1iiC] A review of published clinical results of radical radiation therapy for head and neck cancer suggests a significant loss of local control when the administration of radiation therapy was prolonged; therefore, lengthening of standard treatment schedules should be avoided whenever possible.[13]
Accumulating evidence has demonstrated a high incidence (>30%–40%) of hypothyroidism in patients who have received radiation therapy that delivered EBRT to the entire thyroid gland or to the pituitary gland. Thyroid-function testing of patients should be considered prior to therapy and as part of posttreatment follow-up.[14,15]
“http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/nasopharyngeal/HealthProfessional/page5″>
Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma