Can patients with early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma get pregnant?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant tumor disease. Once you have nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the harm is very great. So, can patients with early nasopharyngeal carcinoma get pregnant? This is a question that many patients are concerned about. In fact, for patients with early nasopharyngeal carcinoma, don’t worry too much. As long as it is completely cured, it will not affect pregnancy. The early treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is very simple. When we find this disease during the examination, we must choose the correct treatment method under the doctor’s advice and guidance, and try to eradicate it. The following is an introduction to the specific treatment methods for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

1. Radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is recognized as the first choice of treatment for NPC. In 1979, the National Conference on Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma proposed that stage I NPC should be treated with radiotherapy. Radiotherapy for NPC can be divided into radical radiotherapy and palliative radiotherapy. Radiotherapy for NPC kills tumor cells, but normal tissues or organs are inevitably exposed to radiation and produce radiation reactions. The radiation reaction is closely related to the dose, irradiation range, number of irradiation courses, and the tolerance of normal tissues or organs.

2. Surgical treatment. Surgical treatment has a certain impact on the patient's health, and appropriate subjects should be selected. Applicable subjects:

1) Patients with pathological types of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma and other cancers that are insensitive to radiation, and whose lesions are confined to the posterior or anterior wall of the roof, and who have no contraindications to surgery, may consider resection of the primary lesion. Patients in stages II, III, and IV are not suitable for surgical treatment.

2) For patients with residual or recurrent lesions in the nasopharynx or neck after radiotherapy, if they are confined to the posterior or anterior wall of the nasopharyngeal roof, without skull base bone destruction, and in good general condition, and who have recently undergone radiotherapy and are not suitable for further radiotherapy, resection of the lesions may be considered.

3) If there is residual or recurrence in the neck, if the area is limited and the patient is active, neck lymph node clearance surgery may be considered. If there is residual neck lymph node after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, surgery should be performed early. If timely treatment is performed within 3-6 months after radiotherapy, the prognosis is good.

3. Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is also a commonly used treatment for mid- to late-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and is often used in conjunction with other treatments. Studies have found that more than 95% of nasopharyngeal carcinomas are poorly differentiated and undifferentiated, with high malignancy, rapid growth, and a high risk of lymph node or blood metastasis. When nasopharyngeal carcinoma is diagnosed, 75% of patients are already in stage III and IV. The later the disease, the greater the chance of distant metastasis and the worse the prognosis. Radiotherapy is a local treatment method that cannot prevent distant metastasis. Therefore, combined use of chemicals or a combination of several drugs may shrink the tumor or eliminate tiny lesions, improving the treatment effect.

Patients with nasopharyngeal cancer must actively cooperate with treatment and consider pregnancy only after they are completely cured. This is a responsible behavior for both the baby and their own body.