- The 5-year survival rate after treatment can reach 85%
At present, the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is mainly a multi-disciplinary comprehensive therapy based on radiotherapy, including simple radiotherapy, concurrent radiotherapy after induction chemotherapy, surgery, molecular targeted therapy and so on.
Radiotherapy is the main first-line local treatment for early nasopharyngeal carcinoma. For early stage patients, radiotherapy alone is recommended; For intermediate stage patients, concurrent chemoradiotherapy (oral or intravenous chemotherapeutic drugs given at the same time as radiotherapy) is recommended; For patients with advanced tumors, induction chemotherapy (also known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, refers to chemotherapy used before radiotherapy, which can reduce tumor load and alleviate various clinical symptoms caused by tumors in a short period of time) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy can reduce the rate of distant metastasis and improve local control and overall survival. For patients with local recurrence and lymph node metastasis, surgical resection of the tumor and lymph node dissection can be chosen. In addition, in recent years, targeted therapy and immunotherapy have been gradually applied to the comprehensive treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
After treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, it is recommended to follow up once every 3 months for the first two years, once every 4 to 6 months for the third to fifth years, and once a year after that. Clinical data show that the overall 5-year survival rate of patients with nasopharyngeal cancer after treatment can reach 85%, which is higher than that of many malignant tumors.
- It reduces your risk of cancer
To prevent the occurrence of nasopharyngeal cancer, efforts can be made in the following aspects of life.
■ Adjust your diet
Eat less or no foods containing nitrosamines, such as pickled fish, salted sauerkraut, salted meat and some canned products; Eat less or no spicy food; Usually appropriate intake of some high protein, high vitamin food. A balanced diet can effectively improve body function.
■ Perform Epstein-Barr virus screening and follow-up
Once the suspected symptoms mentioned above are found in life, it is necessary to seek medical treatment as soon as possible for examination, and people over the age of 40 are recommended to do nasopharyngeal examination at the same time during the physical examination. At present, Epstein-Barr virus serology has been used for population screening in southern China, namely serum VCA-IgA or early antigen-iga antibody titer. However, Epstein-Barr virus specific serological screening has limited specificity for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and an increase in viral antibody titers may precede the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by up to 10 years, that is, an increase in viral antibody titers may be detected 10 years before a definitive diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Therefore, long-term follow-up, early detection and early diagnosis and treatment are also needed for people with positive Epstein-Barr virus screening antibodies.
■ Avoid nasopharyngeal exposure to pollution
Avoid contact with the polluted external air environment as much as possible, because the nasopharynx is the only way for the outside air to enter the lungs, and harmful gases will first harm the nasopharynx before entering the lungs. It is recommended that when the weather is bad or there is pollution in the environment, wear a mask corresponding to the protection level.
■ Stop smoking and drinking
Because smoking and drinking can cause Epstein-Barr virus reactivation to participate in the pathogenesis of nasopharyngeal cancer, it is recommended that high-risk groups of nasopharyngeal cancer, especially those over 50 years old with elevated Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers, quit smoking and alcohol.
In addition, daily life to avoid overwork, do not stay up late, participate in sports activities.
Rhinitis control is not easy to become cancerous?
"Among the many types of rhinitis, allergic rhinitis has a higher risk of developing into nasopharyngeal cancer" - is there any scientific basis for this claim circulating on the Internet?
What we call rhinitis is actually a more general term. According to the duration of the disease, rhinitis can be divided into acute rhinitis and chronic rhinitis. According to whether certain substances produce nasal allergic symptoms, can be divided into allergic rhinitis and non-allergic rhinitis. The rhinitis that occurs when a cold is acute rhinitis, the general course of illness is within 4 weeks, and the nasal symptoms lasting more than 12 weeks are mostly chronic rhinitis; Allergic rhinitis refers to a series of nasal symptoms caused by exposure to certain substances, such as an itchy nose, sneezing, runny nose and congestion.
At present, there is no clear evidence that poor control of rhinitis will develop into nasopharyngeal cancer, but some scholars have found that patients with allergic rhinitis may have an increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer.
Therefore, for patients with long-term chronic rhinitis, it is necessary to actively seek medical attention for targeted treatment, especially for patients with allergic rhinitis, because it is easy to develop asthma.
The treatment of allergic rhinitis includes allergen avoidance, drug therapy, immunotherapy and surgical treatment. Active and effective treatment can improve the quality of life and prevent the further development of the disease.
