Premium
Primary nasopharyngeal adenocarcinoma: A review
Author(s) -
XU Tao,
LI ZhiMing,
GU MoFa,
WEI Weihong,
ZHANG Guoyi,
WU QiuLiang,
SU Yong,
HU WeiHan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1743-7563
pISSN - 1743-7555
DOI - 10.1111/j.1743-7563.2011.01499.x
Subject(s) - nasopharyngeal carcinoma , medicine , radiation therapy , adenocarcinoma , disease , pathological , oncology , chemotherapy , cancer
Primary nasopharyngeal adenocarcinoma (NAC) accounts for approximately 0.5% of all nasopharyngeal cancer. The diagnosis, staging and treatment of NAC has not been well described. This article presents a literature review on NAC and identifies its characteristics and management. The NAC group of diseases contains various pathological types and has a series of specific clinical characteristics, including slow progression, a low incidence of neck masses and frequent cranial neuropathy. The Epstein–Barr virus may not play an important role in NAC carcinogenesis. The rarity of the disease makes the staging classification and treatment strategies of NAC parallel to those recommended for nasopharyngeal squamous carcinoma. Some patients might benefit from surgery, and radiotherapy using precise techniques might achieve good control for treating NAC, but the roles of chemotherapy and target therapy are not clear. The proper staging system and optimal treatment strategies need to be established in NAC.