Cancer types
Nasopharyngeal cancer
Other types of cancer that can develop in the nasopharynx are lymphomas, melanomas and sarcomas.
What causes it?
Like a lot of cancers, the cause of cancer of the nasopharynx is unknown. There are a number of factors that increase the risk of developing it.
- Specific diets: Some African and Asian diets consume food that contains nitrosamines which are thought to be a risk factor.
- Epstein-Barr virus: This virus causes Glandular fever, and is also thought to increase the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of nasopharyngeal cancer may include:
- Blocked nose
- Painless swelling in the upper neck
- Nosebleeds
- Unexplained changes in hearing
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus
TIP: If you have any of these symptoms you should have them checked by your doctor - but remember, they are common to many illnesses other than nasopharyngeal cancer.
How is it diagnosed?
After visiting your GP you will probably be referred to a hospital for some tests. These may include:
- Endoscope: The specialist will examine your nasopharynx by using a very thin, flexible tube with a light at the end (nasendoscope).
- MRI
- CT scan
- Isotope bone scan: Identifies abnormal areas of bone through scanning an area that has been injected with a mild radioactive substance.
How is it treated?
The team of doctors and other staff at the hospital will plan the treatment. It will depend on the size of the tumour and where it is.
Treatment may be undertaken by an oncologist (a doctor who specialises in treating cancer with chemotherapy) and a radiologist (a doctor who specialises in treating cancer with radiation).
Treatment may involve
Radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer
Radiotherapy is the main treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer.
It is usually given to the lymph glands in the neck as well as the nasopharyngeal area.
It can be administered from outside the body (external beam radiotherapy) or by implanting radioactive material into the tumour (internal radiotherapy).
One of the side effects of radiation treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer is a dry mouth as the salivary glands are affected. It is important to maintain mouth care and visit a dentist regularly.
For more information about radiotherapy, go to our radiotherapy fact sheet
Chemotherapy for nasopharyngeal cancer
Chemotherapy is may be given to treat nasopharyngeal cancer.
For more information about chemotherapy, go to our chemotherapy fact sheet
Surgery for nasopharyngeal cancer
After a course of radiotherapy a surgeon may suggest surgery to remove any remaining affected the lymph nodes and as a precautionary measure, remove unaffected lymph nodes.
For more information about surgery, go to our surgery fact sheet
Side effects of treatment
There are some side effects of the treatments for nasopharyngeal cancer which can be found in our side effects fact sheet
More information
You may want to check out the websites or fact sheets on the left hand side for more information on head and neck cancers and other related topics.
Check out our community pages to chat with other young people about nasopharyngeal cancer, or its treatment….or anything really.
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