title: Early, late symptoms and histological type of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: After a wide literature review, we retrospectively analyzed the accurately recorded early onset and late symptoms at first diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in a series of 85 patients. Thirty-seven (44%) and 48 (56%) of cases had a squamous (SCC) and undifferentiated (UCNT) histological NPC subtype, respectively. Thirteen (15%), 21 (25%) and 51 (60%) of cases were T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The involvement of locoregional lymph nodes resulted significantly more frequent in UCNT with respect to SCC (35% versus 18% respectively; p<0.05). Overall, the early onset symptoms were represented by locoregional lymph node enlargement in 35% of cases; nasal symptoms in 32%, otological symptoms in 36%, while neurological symptoms were reported in only 2% of cases. On the contrary, symptoms at first diagnosis were more frequently represented by lymph node enlargement (53%) and nasal symptoms (68%) which were the symptoms effectively conducting the patients to the specialist. A protocol for management of ORL symptomatic patients according to the incidence of described early onset and at first diagnosis symptoms is suggested.
authors.affiliation: Otorhinolaryngology Operative Unit, Oncology Institute, I-70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grammatica
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Achille
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piepoli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paradiso
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies