Survival rates and quality of life of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

Abstract Incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is on the rise around the globe and more patients are being diagnosed with late-stage disease. Only a minority of patient seek early treatment during early stage disease and tend to have better survival. The survival rates and quality of life (QoL) of NPC patients are intimately related as each can adversely or positively affect one another. Many factors exist at pretreatment, during treatment, and posttreatment that can affect NPC patient prognosis, survival, and QoL. With the emergence of better organ preservation protocols, imaging techniques, surgical instrumentation, and expertise, these NPC patients may have better survival rates and improved prognosis with better QoL.