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Histopathological Diagnosis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Looking beyond the Blue Book

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Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 778))

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumour of the nasopharynx that has a strong geographical distribution, with a high incidence in Southern China. It is a tumour that has had many classification schemes proposed since the early 20th century. The latest classification proposed by the World Health Organization has two main types of tumour—nonkeratinizing carcinoma and keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. In actual practice, however, histological gradations between these two types can be present and the prognostic significance of such subdivision remains unclear. As there has been an increasing trend of monitoring NPC by Epstein-Barr viral (EBV) load it is possible that future classifications may be based on whether the tumour is associated with EBV or not, rather than histological appearances.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR, China

    John Nicholls

  2. Institute of Pathology, Emergency Hospital Berlin (UKB), Berlin, Germany

    Gerald Niedobitek

Authors
  1. John Nicholls
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  2. Gerald Niedobitek
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS and Institut de Cancérologie Gustave Roussy, Université Paris-Sud 11, UMR 8126, Villejuif, France

    Pierre Busson MD, PhD

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© 2013 Landes Bioscience and Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Nicholls, J., Niedobitek, G. (2013). Histopathological Diagnosis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Looking beyond the Blue Book. In: Busson, P. (eds) Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 778. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5947-7_2

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