What are the main symptoms of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer?

The main symptoms of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer are diverse and obvious, which have a serious impact on patients' quality of life.

Neck mass: This is one of the common symptoms of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer. Cancer cells can metastasize to the lymph nodes in the neck, causing them to swell. These masses are usually firm, poorly mobile, and may occur unilaterally or bilaterally. As the disease progresses, the lump may gradually increase in size, compressing surrounding tissue and causing pain and discomfort.

Worsening of nosebleeds and nasal congestion: In advanced nasopharyngeal cancer, the frequency and amount of nosebleeds may increase. The continued growth of tumor tissue can further block the nasal cavity, causing symptoms of nasal congestion to worsen. The patient may have difficulty breathing or even need to breathe through the mouth.

Ear symptoms: Advanced nasopharyngeal cancer may invade ear structures and cause tinnitus, hearing loss and other symptoms. This is due to the tumor compressing or invading the Eustachian tube, affecting the ventilation and drainage functions of the ear. Patients may hear persistent abnormal sounds and gradually experience hearing loss.

Severe headaches: As the tumor grows and invades surrounding nerve tissue, patients will develop severe headaches. The location of the headache may be fixed, unilateral or bilateral, and the pain may gradually increase, greatly affecting the patient's quality of life.

Symptoms of cranial nerve damage: Advanced nasopharyngeal cancer may invade cranial nerves, causing symptoms such as facial numbness, eyelid droop, diplopia, and difficulty swallowing. The appearance of these symptoms indicates that the condition is quite serious and the difficulty of treatment is greatly increased.

In addition, late-stage nasopharyngeal cancer may also present symptoms of distant metastasis, such as cough, sputum, hemoptysis and dyspnea caused by lung metastasis; liver function damage and jaundice caused by liver metastasis; and pain caused by bone metastasis.

(Click to view an introduction to drugs for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer.)

xa0

References:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nasopharyngeal-cancer/