Clinical presentation of nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in East Java, Indonesia

Background: Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) is a rare malignancy throughout most of the world, but the incidence in Southeast Asia is very high. In Indonesia, NPC is the fourth most common malignancy. Among all regions in Indonesia, East Java has the highest incidence. However, there is no detailed study in East Java regarding this malignancy. Aim: To document the clinical presentation of NPC in East Java. Methodology: This was a descriptive study using medical record at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital. Samples were newly diagnosed NPC patients who attended radiotherapy outpatient clinic between January – December 2016. Total sampling method was used in this study. Patients’ characteristic including presented symptoms, chief complaints, clinical staging, and histological subtypes were assessed and evaluated. Results: There were 270 NPC patients registered in radiotherapy outpatients clinic at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in 2016. Two-thirds of the patients were male. More than half of the patients came to the healthcare service with the chief complaint of lump in the neck. Based on the staging, almost all patients were already in the late stage. Histopathologic findings showed that WHO type 3 was the most common subtypes of NPC.\ Conclusion: Majority of the NPC patients in East Java were already in the advanced stage. Early diagnosis is important for favorable outcome of this disease. Thus, it is important to understand the chief complaint and symptoms in patients with NPCso that the diagnostic delay could be avoided.