Misdiagnosis of 58 cases of nasopharyngeal lymphoma

Objective To analyze the cause of misdiagnosis of lymphoma originating in the nasopharynx, in order to improve the early diagnosis rate. Methods The clinical data and treatment of 58 cases of nasopharyngeal lymphoma admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2011 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Results The first symptom of nasopharyngeal lymphoma was nasal congestion in 21 cases (36.2%), purulent sputum in 17 cases (29.3%), fever in 16 cases (27.6%), and nosebleed in 13 cases (22.4%). Forty-four cases (75.9%) of 58 patients were misdiagnosed as nasopharyngeal lymphoma, 15 cases (34.1%) were misdiagnosed as nasal-sinusitis, 13 cases (29.5%) were misdiaghosed with bacterial or viral infection, and 6 cases (13.6%) were misdiagnosed as cervical lymphadenitis. Fifty-four patients were determined by biopsy, and 4 patients underwent more than 2 times of biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Conclusions The incidence of misdiagnosis in nasopharyngeal lymphoma is high. It is easy to be misdiagnosed as rhinosinusitis and bacterial or viral infections. Combined with common diseases of otolaryngology, non-typical early clinical features, insufficient examination and biopsy are the main reasons for misdiagnosis. Key words: Nasopharyngeal lymphoma; Clinical symptoms; Misdiagnosis