[Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in childhood]

From 1964 to 1983, 54304 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) had been diagnosed in our hospital, of which 53 (0.10%) were under 14 years old. Among the 53 cases, 4 (7.55%) had Stage II, 36 (67.92%) Stage III, 12 (22.64%) Stage IV and 1 (1.89%) unstaged lesions, 26.42% had presenting symptoms related to nasopharyngeal lesion and 73.58% to cervical mass. Involvement of the cranial nerves was relatively rare. There was a significant difference between the adult and children patients on the ratio of carcinoma to sarcoma (4.08:1 for children, 443:1 for adult). Among the poorly differentiated carcinomas, vesicular nucleus carcinoma was more frequent in children than in adult. The prognosis of childhood NPC was poor with a 5-year survival rate of 20.75% in this series. Early diagnosis and treatment may improve the prognosis.