what is nasopharyngeal cancer?

At first, I did not even know that the medical name for nose cancer is nasopharyngeal cancer or NPC. I did not know anything about NPC either. Thanks to internet, I started to read up on NPC to learn more about this disease. So what exactly is NPC?


Nasopharyngeal cancer or NPC is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the nasopharynx.


The nasopharynx is the upper part of the pharynx (throat) behind the nose. The pharynx is a hollow tube about 5 inches long that starts behind the nose and ends at the top of the trachea (windpipe) and esophagus (the tube that goes from the throat to the stomach). Air and food pass through the pharynx on the way to the trachea or the esophagus. The nostrils lead into the nasopharynx. An opening on each side of the nasopharynx leads into an ear. Nasopharyngeal cancer most commonly starts in the squamous cells* that line the nasopharynx.

* squamous cells = flat cell that looks like a fish scale under a microscope. These cells cover inside and outside surfaces of the body. They are found in the tissues that form the surface of the skin, the lining of the hollow organs of the body (such as the bladder, kidney, and uterus), and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts.

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References :
National Cancer Institute, USA
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/nasopharyngeal/patient/