Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the people's Republic of China: incidence, treatment, and survival rates.

The incidence, treatment regimens, and survival rates for nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China, one of the most common cancers in that country, are reviewed. Although treated almost exclusively with megavoltage photon therapy, in some cancer centers intracavitary radium insertions are used to increase the radiation dose to the primary tumor site. A histological study of these tumors shows that patients whose tumors are well-differentiated and contain an abundance of lymphocytes have the best prognosis.