What is nasopharyngeal cancer?
Nasopharyngeal cancer starts in the cells of the nasopharynx, which is part of the throat (pharynx). A cancerous (malignant) tumour is a group of cancer cells that can grow into and destroy nearby tissue. It can also spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
The pharynx is part of the digestive and respiratory systems. It is divided into 3 parts. The nasopharynx is the top part, located behind the nose. The oropharynx is the middle part. The hypopharynx is the bottom part.
Cells in the nasopharynx sometimes change and no longer grow or behave normally. These changes may lead to non-cancerous (benign) tumours such as angiofibroma or hemangioma.
But in some cases, changes to nasopharyngeal cells can cause nasopharyngeal cancer.
Most often, nasopharyngeal cancer starts in the
Rare types of nasopharyngeal cancer can also develop. These include nasopharyngeal papillary adenocarcinoma and minor salivary gland carcinoma.
The pharynx
Cancerous tumours of the nasopharynx
Non-cancerous tumours of the nasopharynx
Your trusted source for accurate cancer information
With just $5 from readers like you, we can continue to provide the highest quality cancer information for over 100 types of cancer.
We’re here to ensure easy access to accurate cancer information for you and the millions of people who visit this website every year. But we can’t do it alone.
If everyone reading this gave just $5, we could achieve our goal this month to fund reliable cancer information, compassionate support services and the most promising research. Please give today because every contribution counts. Thank you.