Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and More

Treatment options for nasopharyngeal cancer might depend on the cancer’s location, how fast it’s growing, whether it has spread to other areas, and the person’s preferences and overall health.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy involves using beams of high energy to kill cancer cells. Cleveland Clinic says nasopharyngeal cancer is especially sensitive to radiation, so it’s often a treatment of choice for the disease.

Mayo Clinic explains that external beam radiation, which uses a machine outside the body to direct radiation to a specific area, is the most common type used for nasopharyngeal cancer. Another type of radiation, called brachytherapy, is sometimes an option for nasopharyngeal cancer that recurs (comes back). With this type, radioactive seeds or wires are placed in or near the tumor internally.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses medicines to destroy cancer cells in the body. The drugs can be given through a vein in the arm or taken in pill form. People with nasopharyngeal cancer might receive chemo before radiation therapy, after radiation therapy, or at the same time as radiation therapy.

Chemoradiation

When chemotherapy and radiation are used in combination, it’s called chemoradiation. When chemo is used together with radiation, it can often boost the effects of the treatment, but it may also cause more side effects.

Surgery

Generally, surgery isn’t considered a go-to treatment for people with nasopharyngeal cancer. The nasopharynx is a difficult area to operate on because it’s hard to reach and is located close to cranial nerves and blood vessels.

However, in certain cases, some tumors can be removed surgically. Additionally, doctors may perform surgery to take out affected lymph nodes in the neck.

Targeted Therapies

Targeted drugs work by zeroing in on specific proteins that control how cancer cells grow. The American Cancer Society says that some people with nasopharyngeal cancer may benefit from an injection of the targeted therapy cetuximab. Targeted treatments are commonly combined with chemo and radiation.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to attack cancer cells. A certain type of immunotherapy, called a checkpoint inhibitor, may be used for some people with advanced or recurrent nasopharyngeal cancer.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies that may offer patients the chance to try a new treatment that isn’t yet available to the public. Some people with nasopharyngeal cancer opt to participate in clinical trials to get access to a novel therapy.