NEOPLASM OF THE NASOPHARYNX: Review of Sixty-Eight Cases Which Appeared in the Japanese Literature

Abstract

YAMASHITA,in 1941, recorded 29 cases of malignant neoplasm that were observed in one of the university hospitals in Formosa. Of these, 4 were in Japanese and 25 were in Chinese. The total number of patients treated in this university hospital for all causes was 12,722 Japanese and 7,756 Formosans, the proportion being nearly 3: 2. Since the Japanese and Chinese are supposed to have a common racial origin, this marked susceptibility of the Chinese is an interesting phenomenon. This review covers the 68 cases of nasopharyngeal tumors that appeared in the Japanese medical literature since the above-mentioned publication. There are two major types of nasopharyngeal growths. One originates in the nasopharynx; the other is an extension from the base of the skull, and the tumor appears secondarily in the nasopharynx. The presenting symptoms of these two types are much the same. This paper is chiefly concerned with the clinical manifestations.