Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors

Malignant nasopharyngeal tumors account for approximately 4% of ENT malignant tumor pathology and 1% of all cancers. The diagnosis of nasopharyngeal tumors is often late, the reason being the location in a silent anatomical region in terms of symptomatology and accessibility. Thus, approximately 70%...

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Main Authors: Alexandru Aristide Alexe, Mihai Victor Lupascu, Haldun Septar, Anca Pantea Stoian, Andra Iulia Suceveanu, Viorel Gherghina, Iuliana Cindea, Alina Doina Nicoara, Laura Mazilu, Razvan Hainarosie, Felix Voinea, Adrian Paul Suceveanu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1548&context=jmms
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author Alexandru Aristide Alexe
Mihai Victor Lupascu
Haldun Septar
Anca Pantea Stoian
Andra Iulia Suceveanu
Viorel Gherghina
Iuliana Cindea
Alina Doina Nicoara
Laura Mazilu
Razvan Hainarosie
Felix Voinea
Adrian Paul Suceveanu
author_facet Alexandru Aristide Alexe
Mihai Victor Lupascu
Haldun Septar
Anca Pantea Stoian
Andra Iulia Suceveanu
Viorel Gherghina
Iuliana Cindea
Alina Doina Nicoara
Laura Mazilu
Razvan Hainarosie
Felix Voinea
Adrian Paul Suceveanu
author_sort Alexandru Aristide Alexe
collection DOAJ
description Malignant nasopharyngeal tumors account for approximately 4% of ENT malignant tumor pathology and 1% of all cancers. The diagnosis of nasopharyngeal tumors is often late, the reason being the location in a silent anatomical region in terms of symptomatology and accessibility. Thus, approximately 70% of newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma unfortunately present with the condition in an advanced local stage. The early signs and symptoms are varied (nasal obstruction, hearing loss, otalgia, headache) and are usually ignored by the patient and even by the doctor in the initial stage of nasopharyngeal tumor evolution. Approximately 5% of patients have systemic metastases at presentation, the most common location being bone. Latent Epstein-Barr virus infection appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. There is no exact evidence of how often a nasopharynx tumor’s first sign is unilateral hearing loss. Thus, further work is required to determine that exactly to help patients get diagnosed faster and therefore improving their therapeutical options. This study aims to explore which symptoms are most common as the first indication of NPC, as well as how these symptoms compare to each other in terms of frequency and likelihood of occurrence.
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spelling doaj-art-c516ff5bbd064c89afbcc3c40f2bf7782025-08-20T03:04:39ZengMDPI AGJournal of Mind and Medical Sciences2392-76742024-10-0111243744310.22543/2392-7674.1548Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumorsAlexandru Aristide Alexe0Mihai Victor Lupascu1Haldun Septar2Anca Pantea Stoian3Andra Iulia Suceveanu4Viorel Gherghina5Iuliana Cindea6Alina Doina Nicoara7Laura Mazilu8Razvan Hainarosie9Felix Voinea10Adrian Paul Suceveanu11Ovidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaCarol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders, Bucharest, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaCarol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Bucharest, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaOvidius University of Constanta, Faculty of Medicine, Constanta, RomaniaMalignant nasopharyngeal tumors account for approximately 4% of ENT malignant tumor pathology and 1% of all cancers. The diagnosis of nasopharyngeal tumors is often late, the reason being the location in a silent anatomical region in terms of symptomatology and accessibility. Thus, approximately 70% of newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma unfortunately present with the condition in an advanced local stage. The early signs and symptoms are varied (nasal obstruction, hearing loss, otalgia, headache) and are usually ignored by the patient and even by the doctor in the initial stage of nasopharyngeal tumor evolution. Approximately 5% of patients have systemic metastases at presentation, the most common location being bone. Latent Epstein-Barr virus infection appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. There is no exact evidence of how often a nasopharynx tumor’s first sign is unilateral hearing loss. Thus, further work is required to determine that exactly to help patients get diagnosed faster and therefore improving their therapeutical options. This study aims to explore which symptoms are most common as the first indication of NPC, as well as how these symptoms compare to each other in terms of frequency and likelihood of occurrence.https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1548&context=jmmsotitis medianasopharyngeal cancernasopharynx tumoreustachian tubeepstein-barr virus
spellingShingle Alexandru Aristide Alexe
Mihai Victor Lupascu
Haldun Septar
Anca Pantea Stoian
Andra Iulia Suceveanu
Viorel Gherghina
Iuliana Cindea
Alina Doina Nicoara
Laura Mazilu
Razvan Hainarosie
Felix Voinea
Adrian Paul Suceveanu
Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences
otitis media
nasopharyngeal cancer
nasopharynx tumor
eustachian tube
epstein-barr virus
title Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
title_full Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
title_fullStr Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
title_full_unstemmed Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
title_short Challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
title_sort challenges in diagnosing nasopharyngeal tumors
topic otitis media
nasopharyngeal cancer
nasopharynx tumor
eustachian tube
epstein-barr virus
url https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1548&context=jmms
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