Clinicopathological analysis of nasopharyngeal carcinomas

Abstract

Fifty-eight cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were analyzed clinicopathologically. The overall five year survival rate was 50%. Nasal or aural symptoms outnumbered that of cervical mass as initial symptoms. Vth, Vlth, IXth and Xth cranial nerve involvement was more common than involvement of the other nerves. The initial N-stage provided prognostic correlation, but histological typing, T-stage and treatment did not correlate with patient prognosis. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) occurred more often in older patients of both sexes than did other types of carcinoma such as undifferentiated (UC) or nonkeratiniz- ing (NKC). Moreover, advanced cervical metastases were more common in UC than in SCC.