Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is highly responsive to radiation therapy and many types of chemotherapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to destroy or shrink nasopharynx cancer cells. Our radiation oncologists aim radiation beams directly at tumors, treating them while avoiding damage to nearby healthy tissues.

External radiation (external beam therapy) uses machines outside the body. Types of external radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal cancer include:

• 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT): Using 3D pictures, a radiation oncologist aims radiation beams from different angles to match treatment to the tumor’s size and shape.
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): This therapy lets doctors to change the radiation amount from each beam for customized treatment.
• Stereotactic ablative radiation therapy (SABR): Also known as stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), this treatment delivers intense radiation doses over several days. 

With internal radiation (brachytherapy), your doctor surgically implants small, radioactive rods or pellets in or near the cancerous tumor. The implants stay in place for several days while you stay in the hospital. Doctors use this treatment method most often for recurrent (returning) nasopharyngeal cancer.

Our care team may also recommend chemoradiation to treat nasopharyngeal cancer. This is a combination of chemotherapy medications and radiation treatments. Chemotherapy drugs can make cancer cells more sensitive to radiation. Taking these medications while receiving radiation can make radiation treatments more effective. 

Drugs that you take by mouth, injection, or infusion could be a part of your treatment plan. Your medical team may use these treatments alone or with other therapies.

Our cancer doctors use a wide range of cancer medications, including:

• Chemotherapy: These medications slow or stop cancer cells from growing. Doctors may use chemoradiation, a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.
• Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy medications instruct your immune system to fight cancer cells.  
• Targeted therapy: These drugs act like naturally occurring substances in the body that hinder cancer cell growth or health.

Doctors usually recommend radiation and chemotherapy to treat nasopharyngeal cancer because they’re effective, and the nasopharynx is difficult to reach through surgery. However, if any cancer remains or returns after these treatments, our head and neck surgeons are leaders in breakthrough surgical techniques to remove it.

In addition to surgical techniques, our surgeons have specialized expertise in minimally invasive endoscopic procedures to treat recurrent nasopharyngeal cancer. Using no incisions to reach the tumor, doctors insert an endoscope through the nose to see and remove it.