An Evidence-Based Approach to the Management of Nasopharyngeal Cancer

Baharudin Abdullah is a senior consultant in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Hospital USM) and Dept of ORL-Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He has qualified and awarded the Master of Medicine (ORL-Head & Neck Surgery) from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2002 for his specialty qualification. Post qualification, he received his training further in AO International Fellowship in Essen, Germany in 2005 and Head and Neck Oncology in Hong Kong in 2006. He has been accepted as a Senior Fellow in the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics and Intervention Society. He is a member of the Governing Council in Asian Society of Head & Neck Oncology and Malaysia National Coordinator for World Head and Neck Cancer Day on behalf of International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologies. He has published widely in journals and books nationally and internationally on works involving head and neck oncology and other related cancer. His clinical works covers patient management in outpatient clinic, peri-operative decision making with good technical/surgical skills involving patients with head and neck cancer, oral cancer, thyroid cancer, maxillary and mandibular cancer and other general management of cancer as a whole. Abdullah manages the head and neck cancer clinic as well as active involvement in the combined multidisciplinary oncology clinic for management of cancer patients in Hospital USM. Anusha Balasubramanian, an otorhinolaryngologist, graduated with a double gold medal in her postgraduate exams, and subsequently went on to complete her fellowship in Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology with Honours under the IFHNOS programme. She is currently a clinical fellow at The Royal Marsden Hospital London and simultaneously pursuing a degree in Medical Law in London. Having completed fellowship attachments at MSKCC New York and AIMS Kerala India, she realises the gap in knowledge in the common public as well as the medical fraternity with regard to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), a common presentation among the Asian population. Her passion lies in exploring the latest developments in NPC, as well as bridging the gap between patients, treating physicians and researchers. As an editor of this project, she hopes to gather knowledge right from basic sciences to advanced molecular genetics and deliver it in a clear and comprehensive manner for the students, researchers, treating physicians and the general public with an interest in the subject. Dr Norhafiza Mat Lazim is an ORL-Head & Neck Surgeon at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. She obtained her MBBS from The University of Queensland, Australia in 1999. She had completed her Master of Medicine in Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2012. Subsequently she obtained her Clinical Fellowship in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek–Netherland Cancer Institute (AVL-NKI), Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2014 and six months of Clinical Fellowship at VUMC, Free University Hospital, in Amsterdam in 2015. In addition, she had clinical attachment at Sydney Head & Neck Cancer Institute, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Australia, in 2019. She has a strong interest in head and neck surgical oncology and had regular subspecialty ORL-Oncology clinics as well as performing most of the head and neck surgeries. She had acquired several grants on head and neck diseases and tumors. She is one of the co-researchers for a multi-center clinical trial on carcinoma of the tongue that based in the United States. She has in total of 50 publications in peer reviewed journals and several book chapters. She has become a reviewer for multiple international journals. She also serves as an editorial board member to numerous international journals. She is a member of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS), European Head and Neck Society (EHNS), Asian Head and Neck Oncology (ASHNO), American Thyroid Association (ATA) and British Association Head and Neck Oncology (BAHNO). She is currently ex-secretary of Malaysia Society of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery (MSOHNS). She has actively organized community-based events especially in relation to promoting awareness of head and neck cancer and healthy lifestyle.

1. Introduction2. Risk factors and etiopathogenesis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma3. Genetics of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and molecular signaling pathways4. Surgical anatomy of the nasopharynx5. Pathology classification of nasopharyngeal carcinoma6. Clinical presentation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma7. Assessment and staging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma8. Laboratory investigation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosis9. Open surgical salvage procedures for nasopharyngeal carcinoma10. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy in early and advanced nasopharyngeal cancer11. Role of endoscopic endonasal surgery in recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma: endoscopic endonasal transpterygoid nasopharyngectomy12. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma screening and prevention programs13. Survival rates and quality of life of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients14. New developments in nasopharyngeal cancer