Department of Clinical Oncology, Kathmandu Cancer Center, Tathali, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Kathmandu Cancer Center, Tathali, Bhaktapur, Nepal.
PLoS One. 2024 May 31;19(5):e0304371. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0304371. eCollection 2024.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) shows geographic and ethnic variation with specific etiopathogenesis. This study characterized the distribution of NPC patients stratified by ethnicity, geography, and histology in a tertiary-level cancer center in Nepal.
A descriptive retrospective study was designed to analyze NPC cases from different regions among patients visiting the hospital from 2016 to 2021. Demographic and clinical information was obtained from medical records. Ethical approval was granted by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC). Data analyses and visualization were carried out with R software.
During the six-year period, a total of 65 individuals were diagnosed with NPC, comprising 42 males and 23 females. Patient median age was 43 years (range 11-85 years). A bimodal age distribution of cases was observed with peaks in patients aged 30-39 years and 50-59 years. Of the NPC patients studied, 29 were from Koshi Province, with 7 cases from Ilam district and 6 cases from Morang district. There were 18 patients in Bagmati Province, and Kathmandu district had the highest number of cases within this region, with 8 patients. The highest proportion of cases were observed among patients of Janajati ethnicity (60%), including Rai, Limbu, and Sherpa people. Histologically, undifferentiated non-keratinizing NPC was the most commonly observed subtype, accounting for 43.1% of cases, followed by 20% differentiated non-keratinizing NPC and 4.6% keratinizing NPC across the entire sample population. The majority of patients (75.3%) were diagnosed at an advanced stage (stage III or IV) with none diagnosed at stage I.
In our study, most cases of NPC occurred in patients from provinces in eastern Nepal (Koshi province), and of the Janajati ethnic community. The most common histological subtype was undifferentiated non-keratinizing carcinoma. Further epidemiological studies could address differences in prevalence and the challenge of late presentation of NPC patients in Nepal.
鼻咽癌（NPC）具有地理和种族差异，具有特定的病因。本研究对尼泊尔一家三级癌症中心按种族、地理位置和组织学对 NPC 患者进行分层，描述其分布特征。
本研究为描述性回顾性研究，分析了 2016 年至 2021 年期间在该医院就诊的来自不同地区的 NPC 患者病例。从病历中获取人口统计学和临床信息。本研究获得了尼泊尔健康研究委员会（NHRC）的伦理批准。数据分析和可视化使用 R 软件进行。
在六年期间，共诊断出 65 名 NPC 患者，其中男性 42 名，女性 23 名。患者中位年龄为 43 岁（范围 11-85 岁）。病例存在双峰年龄分布，峰值分别在 30-39 岁和 50-59 岁。研究的 NPC 患者中，29 人来自科什蒂省，其中 7 人来自伊拉姆区，6 人来自莫朗区。另有 18 人来自巴格马蒂省，加德满都地区的病例数最多，为 8 例。在贾纳杰蒂族群中观察到的病例比例最高（60%），包括拉伊、林布和夏尔巴人。从组织学上看，未分化非角化性 NPC 是最常见的亚型，占所有病例的 43.1%，其次是 20%分化非角化性 NPC 和 4.6%角化性 NPC。大多数患者（75.3%）处于晚期（III 期或 IV 期），无一例处于 I 期。
在我们的研究中，大多数 NPC 病例发生在来自尼泊尔东部省份（科什蒂省）和贾纳杰蒂族群的患者中。最常见的组织学亚型是未分化非角化性癌。进一步的流行病学研究可以解决尼泊尔 NPC 患者流行率的差异以及晚期就诊的挑战。
