Risks and causes of nasopharyngeal cancer
Your risk of developing cancer depends on many things including age, genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors.
Risk factors
Anything that can increase your risk of getting a disease is called a risk factor.
Different cancers have different risk factors. Having one or more of these risk factors doesn't mean you will definitely get that cancer.
Nasopharyngeal cancer is very rare in the UK. It is more common in men than women.
The risk factors for nasopharyngeal cancer are:
Infection
You can’t catch cancer, but some viruses can increase the risk of developing cancer.
Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a very common virus that can increase the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. Most people carry EBV and it does them no harm. This virus is linked to other cancers including Hodgkin lymphoma and Burkitt's lymphoma, which is a type of non Hodgkin lymphoma.
EBV can cause genetic changes in cells that make them more likely to become cancerous in the future. 8 in 10 cases of nasopharyngeal cancer in the UK (80%) are caused by EBV. But many people will be infected with EBV and not develop cancer.
Smoking
People who have ever smoked are at an increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. The risk is higher in long term smokers.
Diet
Certain foods might increase your risk of nasopharyngeal cancer.
Nasopharyngeal cancer is more common in parts of Asia and Northern Africa than it is in Europe. Diets very high in salt cured meats and fish or pickled foods are more common in some of these places. These foods can be very high in nitrates and nitrites, which react with protein to form nitrosamines. These chemicals can damage DNA.
Studies in Asia have shown that people who eat Chinese cured and salted fish are at an increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. People from China, or with Chinese ancestry living in the UK, have higher rates of nasopharyngeal cancer than other ethnic groups. This might be due to their diet.
There is also some evidence that eating lots of fruit and vegetables could decrease the risk of nasophayngeal cancer.
Inherited risk
The risk of nasopharyngeal cancer is higher in people who have a close relative who has had it. This increased risk might be due to inherited genes as well as shared environmental and lifestyle factors.
Occupational risk
People exposed to wood dust through their work have an increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. We don’t know exactly how it increases cancer risk, but it could be from breathing in chemicals from treated wood.
People exposed to formaldehyde also have an increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. Formaldehyde is an industrial chemical used to make other chemicals and building materials.
Ear, nose and throat conditions
People who have had long term (chronic) ear, nose and throat conditions in the past might have an increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. These conditions include a chronic blocked and runny nose (rhinitis), middle ear infections (otitis media) and polyps. This is very rare.
Alcohol
There is some research that suggests drinking alcohol can increase the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer, but the evidence isn’t clear. However drinking alcohol can lead to other head and neck cancers.
Other possible causes
Stories about potential causes of cancer are often in the media. It isn’t always clear which ideas are supported by good evidence.
You might hear about possible causes we haven’t included here. This is because there is no evidence about them or because it is not clear what the available evidence shows.
