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[Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: epidemiology and treatment outcome]
A J Balm1, B E Plaat, A A Hart
1Afd. Keel-, neus- en oorheelhunde/Hoofd-halschirurgie, Het Nederlands Kanker Instituut/Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Ziekenhuis, Amsterdam.
Objective:
To determine epidemiology, symptoms and treatment results of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Design:
Descriptive and retrospective.
Setting:
The Dutch Cancer Institute (Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Methods:
The clinical, epidemiological and radiotherapy data of the 129 patients with a nasopharyngeal carcinoma referred between 1977 and 1993 to our hospital were analysed. Twenty patients were referred for a second opinion only, presented with recurrent disease, or had received their treatment elsewhere. Data of 109 patients were analysed.
Results:
During the last decade more patients born in Asia and North-Africa were referred (p = 0.0057), a total of 52 (48%) out of 109 referred patients. There were 62 (58%) patients in whom an enlarged cervical lymph node at level II (upper jugular group) was the presenting symptom. In 53 (50%) cases hearing loss due to otitis media with effusion was the first symptom. In 54 (54%) patients the delay between the first symptoms and diagnosis of carcinoma was > 20 weeks. 5-year survival was 48% (SE 6%) for the whole group (n = 109) of patients and 52% (SE 6%) for the patients treated with curative intent (n = 96).
Conclusion:
During the last decade the population of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Netherlands contained more patients from Asia and North-Africa. Suspicious cervical lymph node swellings and (or) (unilateral) otitis media with effusion may be indicative of a nasopharyngeal carcinoma.