The relationship between the invasion of parapharyngeal spaces and the involvement of cervical nodes and posterior group cranial nerves in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract

Two hundred cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) admitted to this department from Feb. 1985 to May. 1988 were analysed according to the CT scanning and clinical findings of the primary lesions prior to radiotherapy. The results showed that involvement of parapharyngeal space was very common in NPC, about 80% (160/200 cases); particularly unilateral or bilateral retro-styloid spaces, about 69.5% (139/200 cases). It was proposed that patients with NPC had a high incidence of ipsilateral cervical node metastasis. Contralateral cervical node metastasis was rare. The development of cervical node metastasis in NPC has two modes: one is direct infiltration of the retro-styloid space by the lesion; the other is along the nasopharyngeal lymphatic rete. The data also showed that patients with NPC who presented symptoms of IX – III cranial nerve paralyses always had ipsilateral or bilateral retro- styloid space infiltrations.