Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a Cameroonian girl, a rare tumour in Central Africa: case report and review of literature

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the nasopharynx. It arises from the mucosal epithelium of the nasopharynx, predominantly the Fossa of Rosenmüller. In most parts of the world, it is relatively rare, but in Asian countries where salted smoked fish containing nitrosamines is popularly consumed, it is one of the more common cancers. This work reports a case of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare tumour in Central Africa, in a young Cameroonian girl, and we posit that possibly, an increasing consumption of smoked fish could trigger an increasing incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Africa as obtainable in Asia.

Keywords: Carcinoma, magnetic resonance imaging, nasopharynx