Early throat cancer symptoms and ways to prevent

Nasopharyngeal cancer is a malignant disease, one of the ten most common cancers in Vietnam. The disease is easily acquired in people with unhealthy lifestyles, a family history of throat cancer, and men between the ages of 40 and 60. If detected early, the disease can be cured with interventions. Medical such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy. However, due to the rather discreet and silent signs of nasopharyngeal cancer, the disease is usually detected only in an advanced stage.

1. What is nasopharyngeal cancer?

Nasopharyngeal cancer also known as nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is cancer that arises from the cells of the oropharynx (the highest part of the oropharynx, just behind the nose). This is the cancer that accounts for the highest rate and most suspicious of all types of head and neck cancers and ranks 4th in the group of 6 most common cancers in Vietnam, accounting for 10-12%.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is very rare in Europeans, but common in people with yellow skin. The region most at risk of infection is Central China and most of Southeast Asia at a rate of 20-30 / 100,000.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is a malignant disease, highly fatal if not treated promptly

Stages of nasopharyngeal cancer:

• Stage 1: No obvious symptoms, difficult to detect. The tumor is very small, not more than 2.5 cm.

• Stage 2: The localized stage, the tumor size has increased to 5 - 6 cm.

• Stage 3: Cancer cells begin to metastasize.

• Stage 4: The cancer has spread to the lips, mouth, and destroyed the lymph nodes.

2. Who is at risk for nasopharyngeal cancer?

• People at high risk of nasopharyngeal cancer include:

• People are often exposed to dust, chemicals, radiation, rubber, synthetic resin, ...

• Eat more salted fish, fermented foods like pickled foods, bacon,

• Smoking cigarettes, drinking a lot of alcohol, using drugs.

• Have a family history of cancer (parent / sibling) with nasopharyngeal cancer.

• Subjects from 30 - 84 years old, of which 40-60 years old account for over 50% of the disease. Men meet more than women with the rate of 3/1.

3. The earliest signs of nasopharyngeal cancer

Signs of nasopharyngeal cancer in the early stages are often not obvious, easily confused with ENT diseases. Patients may experience headache, transient nasal congestion, and sometimes small nodules in the neck but not painful

A persistent sore throat is one of the hallmarks of nasopharyngeal cancer

After 6 months from the first symptom onset, the patient may develop some symptoms such as:

• Neck lymphadenopathy.

• Nasal congestion, nose bleeds, or discharge of bloody mucus.

• Headaches, usually migraine headaches, dull all day long.

• Tinnitus, unilateral hearing loss caused by cysts blocking Eustachian tubes, frequent ear infections.

• Difficulty breathing or speaking.

• Loss or loss of vision, drooping eyelids, double vision.

• There is blood in the saliva, difficulty swallowing.

4. Diagnosis and treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer

- Diagnose: To diagnose nasopharyngeal cancer, your doctor may perform a number of medical interventions:

• Physical exam to check signs of illness and discuss past history of the patient.

• Nasopharyngeal exam.

• X-ray, CT, MRI, positron emission tomography (PET).

• Biopsy: The doctor takes a small tissue sample during the nasal endoscopy and looks at the cells or tissue under a microscope to detect signs of nasopharyngeal cancer.

Should be examined early when there are abnormal throat symptoms

- Treatment: Depending on the stage of the cancer, the type of nasopharyngeal cancer, the size of the tumor, the age and the health of the patient, the doctor will choose the appropriate treatment.

• Radiation therapy: Uses high-energy beams to kill cancer cells.

• Chemotherapy: Use pills or an intravenous drug to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be used to treat nasopharyngeal cancer at the same time, after or before radiation therapy.

• Surgery: Usually used to remove lymphoma in the throat, do not perform surgery to treat nasopharyngeal cancer.

In addition to the above treatments for nasopharyngeal cancer, new treatments such as genetic engineering, immunology ... are also showing positive treatment effects.

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5. Prognosis and prevention of nasopharyngeal cancer

The prognosis depends greatly on the stage of the disease when it is found. In stages I and II, the survival rate over 5 years after treatment can be up to 80 - 90%, many cases can be completely cured. With nasopharyngeal cancer in stage III, the survival rate over 5 years is only about 30-40% and the late stage is only 15%. In addition, the prognosis is highly dependent on the type of cancer, in which undifferentiated carcinoma has the best prognosis because it is very sensitive to radiation. Connective tissue cancer has the lowest prognosis.

In our country, almost 90 - 97% of patients detected the disease in stages III and IV, causing many difficulties in treatment. Therefore, each person should proactively prevent the disease by:

• Do not smoke, limit alcohol or drugs.

• Active treatment of inflammatory diseases of the nasal passages.

• Visit the Ear, Nose Throat Specialist for unusual symptoms.

• Exercise, eat in moderation.

• Do not eat salty foods, fermented foods.

• Don't eat foods that are too hot or too cold.

In particular, because the signs of nasopharyngeal cancer are very rarely manifest in the early stage (stages I, II), so periodic screening will help to develop the potential risks and signs early. can lead to nasopharyngeal cancer. From there, it is possible to intervene in time from the earliest stage to increase the possibility of successful treatment

From July 2019, CarePlus International Clinic officially implemented "Oral cancer screening package", including the following items:

(1) CarePlus, an ear, nose and throat specialist doctor consultation

(2) Diagnostic imaging: Diagnostic ENT endoscopy

(3) Testing: Blood test for EBV virus/ SCC test.

The examination package design includes intensive examination items with the support of modern and advanced equipment, giving accurate diagnosis results. After the examination, the doctor will carefully explain the results of the analysis, answer questions and advise on treatment and prevention according to each person's health condition.

In addition, the examination process at CarePlus is evaluated very quickly, the package cost is only 1.700.000 VND, suitable for many subjects. With many outstanding advantages, CarePlus is currently one of the places that provides cancer screening packages that many people trust and choose.

Visit website: https://careplusvn.com/en or contact Hotline 1800 6116 today for detailed advice on throat cancer screening package and make an appointment!

Throat cancer is a dangerous, highly malignant cancer that can be treated well if detected early. Therefore, when there are unusual symptoms, suspicion of nasopharyngeal cancer should be examined early. In addition, for the best prevention, people should be periodically screened for throat cancer, especially men after the age of 30, who work in a polluted environment.