Radiation-induced cranial nerve palsy and its causative factors in nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

ABSTRACT

7000?cGy). The cumulative incidence of cranial nerve Ⅸ-Ⅻ palsies increased in patients with advanced N stage. Patients in the first group of treatment field had the highest risk to progress cranial nerve Ⅸ-Ⅻ palsies, followed by the second group, and the third group had the lowest risk. Only 1 in 34 patients with brachytherapy developed cranial nerve palsy. Conclusions Our retrospective data show that the radiation-induced cranial nerve palsy is a common complication in NPC patients after radiotherapy and the incidence seems to increase with the duration of the follow-up. Factors that potentially affect the injury of cranial nerve Ⅰ-Ⅶ and Ⅸ-Ⅻ are different, because of the different anatomy. Controlling the doses to the nasopharyngeal region and using faciocervical fields may help to lower the incidence of cranial nerve palsy.