Can you smoke with nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Written by Yan Chun
Oncology
Updated on May 09, 2025
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Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma should not smoke, as tobacco is a very certain carcinogenic factor. There is a significant correlation between the high incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and long-term smoking. Therefore, if patients do not eliminate carcinogenic factors, nasopharyngeal carcinoma is likely to recur or metastasize after curative surgery or radiotherapy. Additionally, patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma need to undergo treatment strategies such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Continuous smoking can affect the effectiveness of these anti-tumor treatments and is detrimental to the patient's recovery. Furthermore, smoking can also lead to other types of malignant tumors. Therefore, it is not advisable for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma to smoke. It is also recommended that patients improve other unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as long-term alcohol consumption, a high-fat diet, and the consumption of pickled or fried foods, as these are also causes of high nasopharyngeal carcinoma incidence and should be avoided.

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Where is the best place to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma currently mainly considers radiation therapy and chemotherapy, with radiation therapy as the primary treatment. It requires staging and typing based on different ranges of lesions and pathological biopsy types. After determining the stage and type, further radiation and chemotherapy plans can be established. At present, radiation therapy is the most important. Most patients need concurrent chemotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy and require regular follow-ups. For some patients with cervical lymph node metastasis or recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiation therapy, who cannot undergo radiation or chemotherapy again or for whom radiation and chemotherapy have failed, surgery may be considered. However, surgery is generally not the first choice and its effectiveness is not particularly certain.

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What should I do if nasopharyngeal carcinoma causes vomiting?

Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who exhibit vomiting should first determine the cause of the vomiting. For instance, if vomiting is due to the gastrointestinal reactions caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, medications such as serotonin receptor antagonists, corticosteroids, and NK-1 receptor blockers should be used to alleviate the side effects of the treatment. Additionally, nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients might experience projectile vomiting due to brain metastasis, which results in increased intracranial pressure. It is essential first to confirm the presence of brain metastasis through CT and MRI scans of the head. If brain metastasis is confirmed, localized treatment such as radiotherapy should be administered. Medications like mannitol and glycerol fructose should be used concurrently to reduce intracranial pressure and relieve the projectile vomiting. (Please use medications under the guidance of a doctor.)

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What are the symptoms of nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant, space-occupying lesion in our nasopharynx. Clinically, the initial symptoms are those of the nasopharynx, manifesting as discomfort in the nasopharyngeal area, or blood in nasal discharge when sniffling. As the nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissue enlarges, it can block the posterior nasal apertures, leading to nasal congestion, rapid breathing, and difficulty in breathing. The tumor tissue pressing on our Eustachian tube can cause secretory middle ear infections. The metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells to our cervical lymph nodes causes swelling of these lymph nodes. Destruction of the cranial structure by nasopharyngeal carcinoma tissues presents symptoms such as headaches. There are also other symptoms, mainly due to the spread of nasopharyngeal carcinoma throughout the body or its metastasis to other parts causing corresponding symptoms.

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What department should I go to for nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a relatively common type of malignant tumor in the head and neck area. In terms of treatment, if a patient has been diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, it is recommended to consult an oncology department or a radiation therapy department. This disease requires consideration of a comprehensive treatment plan involving radiotherapy and chemotherapy, typically spanning several months, and regular follow-ups are needed to monitor recovery. If the diagnosis has not yet been confirmed, it is necessary to first consult an otolaryngology (ENT) department. After visiting the ENT department, a nasopharyngoscopy can be performed, followed by a biopsy under the guidance of the nasopharyngoscopy. Only after the pathology from the biopsy can the specific diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma be confirmed, allowing for the clinical pathological staging and typing necessary for subsequent treatment.

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Does nasopharyngeal carcinoma cause coughing?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a relatively common type of malignancy in the head and neck area, and a small number of patients may experience coughing, mainly because the secretions from the nasopharyngeal carcinoma can enter the throat through the posterior nasal aperture, causing an irritative cough. Overall, the occurrence of this symptom is relatively rare. More common symptoms include nasal congestion, bloody nasal discharge, with some patients experiencing headaches or enlarged cervical lymph nodes, and changes in vision. After diagnosis, it is recommended to visit the otolaryngology or oncology departments promptly to assess the severity of the condition. Most patients need to consider radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and regular follow-ups are necessary to monitor treatment outcomes.