Prevalence of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma among Patients with Nasopharyngeal Mass in a Philippine Tertiary Training Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and identify the types of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPCA) among patients with nasopharyngeal mass seen at a tertiary university training hospital in the Philippines from January 2006 – July 2012 and identify possible factors associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
 Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed at a tertiary university training hospital among cases (n=179) seen with nasopharyngeal mass at the ENT outpatient department. Histopathology results and patient medical charts were collected and reviewed after IRB approval. The age at diagnosis, sex, place of residence, occupation and chief complaint was compared among patients with positive histopathology of NPCA only.
 Design: Retrospective, cross sectional study
 Setting: Tertiary Private University Training Hospital
 Participants: 179 patients with nasopharyngeal mass
 Results: 96 (54%) cases with nasopharyngeal mass seen at the ENT outpatient department were positive for nasopharyngeal malignancy. The remaining 83 (46%) cases with nasopharyngeal mass had a benign histopathology. NPCA was more common among males (58%) than females (42%). The most common form of NPCA was non-keratinizing undifferentiated NPCA (47%) followed by poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in 18 (19%). The most common chief complaint was a neck mass, followed by decreased hearing.
 Conclusion: There was a higher proportion of nasopharyngeal malignancy among male patients with nasopharyngeal mass, and the most common chief complaint was a neck mass. Future research should integrate data with other hospital institutions to obtain more accurate demographic data of the local prevalence of NPCA. A detailed record of the ethnicity, diet, occupation, smoking history and family history of cases should be obtained to correlate possible risk factors of NPCA among patients with nasopharyngeal mass in our setting.
 
 
 Keywords: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, nasopharyngeal mass, epidemiology, prevalence