3^rd European Otolaryngology-ENT Surgery Conference

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a unique disease that only happens in some areas of the world such as southeast China, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. For example in Southeast Asia, the incidence rate are as high as 20 to 30

per 100,000 in male populations and 8 to 15 cases per 100,000 in female populations, respectively. The diseases is especially common among Chinese people, with the age of onset trending towards being earlier than for other tumors; accordingly, most patients fall within the range of 30-50 years. Genetic predisposition, Epstein-Barr virus infection, dietary, and environmental

factors are all believed to play an important role in the development of NPC. Radiotherapy is the mainstay of treatment; combined with chemotherapy, the 5-year survival rate is approximately 50~60%. Concurrently, as effective therapeutic methods, radiochemotherapy is used for advance stage treatment whereas only radiotherapy is used for early stage treatment, but the recurrence rate is still nearly 10%. For recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma, revised radiotherapy is controversial due to severe complications and poor outcomes. Salvage nasopharyngectomy plays an important role in operable NPC patients,

but it is still a challenge operationally because of the complexity of anatomy in the area, as the carotid artery and many cranial nerves are nearby. Salvage nasopharyngectomy included external approaches such as superior trans-skull base approach, lateral infratemporal fossa approach, and current approaches such as trans-maxillary swing, endoscopic nasopharyngectomy, and the

robotic assisted trans-palatal approach.