Nasopharyngeal cancer and the benefits of endoscopy

Outline
Nasopharyngeal cancer in our country has a high rate, ranking first in head and neck cancers and 5th in cancer in general.
The disease is common in men aged 40-60. However, in Vietnam, the trend is increasingly common in young people and is more common in both men and women, and there is no correlation between smoking and drinking alcohol with nasopharyngeal cancer.
This is a serious and dangerous disease, but if detected early and properly treated, the cure rate is high (60%-70% survival after 5 years if detected and treated in stage I, the 5-year milestone is considered as mold cure in cancer pathology).
Symptoms of Nasopharyngeal cancer are often poor and non-specific such as tinnitus, hearing loss, stuffy nose, blowing nose with blood, mild headache on one side, so it's easy to ignore until there are obvious symptoms. Symptoms such as complete nasal obstruction, nosebleeds, swollen neck lymph nodes, and weight loss often have progressed to a late stage.
Tests for cancer “markers” have no value in diagnosing nasopharyngeal cancer.
How to detect nasopharyngeal cancer early?
The nasopharynx examination is performed by an experienced doctor with high resolution endoscope system that allows the detection of cancerous lesions at a very early stage, biopsies for histopathology under endoscopic guidance allows accurate diagnosis of this pathology. Even in a few cases we detected cancer in situ (Carcinoma in situ), that is, new cancer cells in the mucosa have not invaded through the basement membrane.
As soon as there are some abnormal symptoms such as ringing in the ears, hearing loss, stuffy nose, snorting with blood or a dull headache on one side, you should go for a colonoscopy immediately and it is best to have an examination of the nasopharynx every year. 1 time for men 40-60 years old.