Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a cancer originating in the nasopharynx, the uppermost region of the pharynx or "throat", where the nasal passages and auditory tubes join the remainder of the upper respiratory tract. NPC differs significantly from other cancers of the head and neck in its occurrence, causes, clinical behavior, and treatment. It is vastly more common in certain regions of East Asia and Africa than elsewhere, with viral, dietary, and genetic factors implicated in its causation. Different types of treatment are available for patients with nasopharyngeal cancer. Some treatments are standard (the currently used treatment), and some are being tested in clinical trials. Standard treatments include radiation therapy, chemotherapy or surgery.

The standard treatment for recurrent NPC has been to re-irradiate or perform open nasopharyngectomy. Surgery can have better outcomes than radiation long term, but with significant morbidity to the patient. At the Center for Cranial Base Surgery, we perform an innovative procedure called a minimally invasive endoscopic nasopharyngectomy which can have better survival than re-irradiation with potentially lower morbidity than open approaches.

Our goal is to provide patients and their physicians with a comprehensive resource for the treatment of Nasopharyngeal Cancer. On our wesite you will find general information about nasopharyngeal cancer and more specific information about our procedure.

Please feel free to contact us for more information.

North American Skull Base Society

The Center's presentation last week at the North American Skull Base Meeting in Vancouver, of our three year data on "CT-Guided Endoscopic Resection for Recurrent Naso- pharyngeal Cancer", was very well received. We are the first center outside of China to do this procedure and present this type of data. Naso-pharyngeal cancer is one of the most common cancers in Asians, and very difficult, if it comes back after radiation therapy. Standard "open" surgery requires that large portions of the cheek and/or palate be permanently removed, resulting in substantial long-term alteration in speech and swallowing and/or appearance. Our approach largely avoids all of that.