One hundred and seventy-eight autopsy cases, cited from the Japan Autopsy Records for past twelve years, were statistically examined.
Distant metastases were calculated to 65.7% of cases, and lymphnodes were to 58.4%. liver, lung and bone were the main organs, to which the metastases spreaded. And the vast majority of lymphnodes metastases appeared in the cervical nodes. Differences in sex and age groups were not observed respectively.
According to the histopathological classification, distant metastases surpassed in the undifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma type, and lymphnode in the differentiated.
From the standpoint of the above mentioned; findings, the prophylactic policies of the metastases in the clinical cases of the nasopharyngeal cancer were discussed. And it was concluded that the anti-EBV-antibody titlation might be useful to detect the early stage of the metastases.