Nose cancer is more accurately described as nasal cavity cancer. The nasal cavity includes the nostrils, structures inside the nose, and the passageway just behind the nose through which air passes on the way to the throat during breathing. Only a minority of nasal cavity cancers actually originate in this region.
The majority are cancers that have migrated from other tissues such as the sinuses or the nasopharynx. These cancers are typically squamous cell carcinomas, meaning they arise from flat, thin cells in the epidermis lining the nasal cavity. Other more rare cancers that can arise in the nasal cavity include melanomas (color-making skin cells), and sarcomas (muscle or connective tissue cells).
Chronic exposure to metals like nickel and chromium, and a variety of organic chemicals used in manufacturing greatly increase the risk of developing nose cancer. Early nasal cavity cancer can produce symptoms that are very similar to less serious nasal diseases such as swelling of the sinuses, headache, chronic infections, and/or blurred vision.
What is Nasal Cavity Cancer?
Fortunately, most conditions affecting the nasal cavity are not cancer, but rather “benign” afflictions. This includes infection of the nose (“rhinitis”), a continuously runny nose (“rhinorrhea”) and stuffiness due to allergies (“allergic rhinitis”). Also, since there are many small “capillaries” in the nose (where the smallest arteries join the smallest veins) nosebleeds (“epistaxis”) are common. Bleeding can be initiated by irritation, dry air, trauma, excessive sneeing, high blood pressure, infections or cancer and are harder to control when they occur deep within the back portion of the nose. In general, cancer is the LEAST likely cause of nasal problems.
Cells in the nose are subjected to lots of injury from heat and abrasion, dust and germs breathed in, and thus must divide frequently to replace those lost due to injury and old age. Normally, cells divide quickly as we develop in the womb and through infancy, and then the rate slows down considerably, just to replace cells that die. The division of cells in the nose and elsewhere is under very tight control, regulated by the “genes” within the cells. When this control is lost, the cells may start to divide in a haphazard, uncontrolled manner, and grow to form a swelling of abnormal cells, called a “tumor”. A “benign” tumor only grows within its local area, it does not spread to distant organs, and it is not cancer. In contrast, a “malignant” tumor can spread to any area of the body, it is cancer. It is this ability to spread, or “metastasize”, to vital organs which makes a cancer so dangerous. Nasal cancers tend to grow large locally before spreading, but any cancer can spread at any time.
What Causes Nasal Cavity Cancer?
Scientists have found that these cancers are associated with a number of risk factors, but their exact cause in most cases is not yet known. But researchers think these risk factors probably affect the DNA, the genetic material present in the cells lining the nasal passages and paranasal sinuses.
Researchers have made great progress in understanding how certain changes in a person’s DNA can cause cells to become cancerous. DNA is the molecule that carries the instructions for nearly everything our cells do. We usually look like our parents because they are the source of our DNA. However, DNA affects more than our outward appearance. It also determines our risk for developing certain diseases, such as some kinds of cancer.
Smoking tobacco (cigarettes, cigars and pipes) increases your risk of nasal cavity cancer. If you smoke regularly you are at a higher than average risk of developing this type of cancer. Cancers of the nasal cavity are quite rare, even in people who smoke, but smoking does significantly increase your risk.
Nasal Cavity Cancer Treatment:
Options for nasal cavity cancer treatment vary, depending on several factors, such as the cancer stage, type and location, as well as the patient’s age and general health. Three standard forms of nasal cavity cancer treatment include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Often, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used as an adjuvant treatment (following surgery) to help kill any remaining cancerous cells.
Nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancer can often be cured, especially if found early.
Descriptions of the most common treatment options for nasal cavity and are listed below. There are three main treatment options are: surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. One of these treatments, or a combination of them, may be used.
Surgery:
Surgical exploration may be required to determine operability. Destruction of the base of skull (i.e., anterior cranial fossa), cavernous sinus, or the pterygoid process; infiltration of the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx; or nonresectable lymph node metastases are relative contraindications to surgery. Surgical approaches include fenestration with removal of the bulk tumor, which is usually followed by radiation therapy or block resection of the upper jaw. A combined craniofacial approach, including resection of the floor of the anterior cranial fossa is used with success in selected patients. Removal of the eye is performed if the orbit is extensively invaded by cancer. Clinically positive nodes, if resectable, may be treated with radical neck dissection.
Radiation therapy:
Radiation therapy must be carried to high doses for any significant probability of permanent control. The treatment volume must include all of the maxillary antrum and involved hemiparanasal sinus and contiguous areas. The orbit and its contents are excluded except under unusual circumstances. Lymph nodes of the neck, when palpable, should be treated in conjunction with treatment of advanced carcinomas of the antrum. This may be unnecessary for early tumors.
Accumulating evidence has demonstrated a high incidence (>30%–40%) of hypothyroidism in patients who have received external-beam radiation therapy to the entire thyroid gland or to the pituitary gland. Thyroid function testing of patients should be considered prior to therapy and as part of posttreatment follow-up.
Nasal Cavity Cancer Symptoms:
Early cancer symptoms are often the same as non-cancerous conditions. Early cancer symptoms that mimic common conditions of the sinuses include:
- Nasal congestion– Nasal congestion that does not go away after a cold can be a symptom of nasal cavity or paranasal sinus cancer.
- Sinus congestion– Persistent sinus headache or pressure in one sinus area can be an early symptom of sinus cancer.
- A nose bleed from one nostril
- Blockage of a nostril
- Runny nose on one side
- Loss of sensation– Numbness or tingling of the face or over the teeth can be caused by sinus cancer and should always be investigated.
- Swelling– Swelling around the eye or the nose can be a later sign of sinus or nasal cavity cancer. Sometimes swelling will be seen on the roof of the mouth.
- Eye symptoms– Double vision, persistent tearing, or bulging of the eye are all serious warning signs.
- Lump in the neck– If nasal cavity or paranasal sinus cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the neck, this may be the first sign.
Nasal Cavity Cancer Surgery:
During nasal cavity cancer surgery, the doctor performs an operation to remove the cancerous tumor and some of the healthy tissue around it (called a margin). A surgical oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer using surgery. The goal of surgery is to remove the entire tumor and leave negative margins (no trace of cancer in the healthy tissue). Surgery is frequently used to remove cancer of the paranasal sinus and nasal cavity. However, it’s usually not possible to completely remove the entire cancer; additional treatments may be necessary.
Depending on the location, stage, and the type of the cancer, a person may need more than one operation to remove the cancer and to help restore the appearance and function of the tissues affected. Surgery often has some risks because of the proximity of the eyes, mouth, brain, and important nerves and blood vessels in the area. A craniofacial resection or skull base surgery is often necessary in paranasal sinus cancer and demands the close cooperation between a neurosurgeon (a specialist who operates on the brain and spine) and a head and neck surgeon to completely remove the tumor. Maxillectomies (different types of tumor resection that remove part or the entire bony roof of the mouth) are sometimes recommended to treat paranasal sinus cancer, and occasionally it is possible to save the eye on the side of the cancer.
Surgery often causes swelling of the face, mouth, and throat, making it difficult to breathe, and sometimes a tracheostomy (hole in the windpipe) may be necessary to make breathing easier for some period of time after surgery.
Types of Nasal Cavity Cancer:
Several layers of tissue make up each part of the nasal cavity (nose) and paranasal sinuses. Each layer contains many different types of cells. Different cancers can develop from each type of cell. It is important for doctors to recognize the type to help them decide on how best to treat the cancer. Tumors of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses can be non cancerous (benign), or cancerous (malignant).
Squamous cell cancers
More than 6 out of 10 nasal cavity and paranasal sinus cancers (60%) are squamous cell carcinomas. Squamous cells are the flat, skin like cells that cover the lining of the mouth, nose, larynx, thyroid and throat. Carcinoma just means cancer. So squamous cell carcinoma is cancer that starts in these cells.
Recovery from Nasal Cavity Cancer Treatment Surgery:
A patient’s recovery depends on the location and type of the cancer, the stage of the cancer, and the patient’s general state of health. The five-year survival rates range from 80-90 percent for small cancers that have not spread to 10-20 percent for advanced cancers.
What is the Cost of Nasal Cavity Cancer Treatment Surgery in India?
- India’s favorable exchange rate and the cost of healthcare services are at an extensively lower cost than that of other countries. If you’re coming from a Western country such as the United States or Britain, medical procedures in India will generally cost a fraction of the price as compared to prices back home.
- Low cost is not the only criteria, patient looks for a quality output with low cost. India is proving to be much beneficial for such patients as the cost of the treatment is low without compromising the quality.
Get your Bilateral Tumor of the nasal and sinus cavity removed in India.
Bilateral Tumor of the nasal and sinus cavity surgery in India is preferred over other developed countries like Europe, U.K because of world – class, advanced, high quality healthcare services provided without any long waiting list to follow and at much cheaper and affordable rates. Bilateral Tumor of the nasal and sinus cavity surgery in India is also famous among the people of foreign countries due to extremely favorable currency exchange rates with USD, GBP, EURO and other currencies, lowest medical malpractice insurance coverage cost for medical professionals and availability of high quality medicines at cheaper rates. In India, one could easily feel like home because in India people believe in “unity in diversity” that cut across the cultural barriers by all means. Nasal tumor form when abnormal cells develop in the nasal and paranasal tissues. The tumors may be malignant (cancerous) or benign (no cancerous). Physicians define the paranasal sinuses as the small hollow spaces around the nose. The tumor may cause minimal symptoms until it spreads outside the sinuses into the surrounding nose, orbit, or brain. Treatment is designed to completely remove the tumor and restore the patient’s function and appearance as much as possible. Optimally, this includes a head and neck oncologic surgeon, reconstructive surgeon, maxillofacial prosthodontist, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, neuroradiologist, pathologist, neurosurgeon, and the patient. India being a developing country, the cost of treatment along with health care and cure is relatively less expensive compared to developed countries. Medical Institutions in India have an immense number of qualified doctors and nurses who are well trained in advanced technology and high-quality procedures used for the surgery of Bilateral Tumor of the nasal and sinus cavity. The International Patient care program in Indian provides support to patients and family members who are far from home. It offers all assistance to the patients and their family members to cope up with the new environment and thus makes the medical procedures, a bit easier.
