Papillary Variant of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: An Unusual Variant Previously Unreported in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

@#Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a commonly encountered malignancy in endemic regions of the world namely South East Asia, China and Hong Kong. In Malaysia, the ethnic Chinese population is particularly at risk due to genetic susceptibilities and environmental exposure to carcinogenic agents. We herein report a case of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in a middle-aged man of Malay ethnicity who presented with nasal blockage and neck nodes. The biopsy of the nasopharyngeal mass came back as papillary variant of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The commonly reported histopathological types are the keratinizing and non-keratinizing types, and rarely the basaloid type. In this case report, we aim to highlight one of the rare variants of the non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma. When diagnosing the non-keratinizing type, appreciation of the different morphological variants is crucial not only to help aid in procuring an acurrate histopathologic diagnosis, but also to help in subsequent treatment plan.