Cancer of the nasopharynx (that part of the throat between the back of the nose and the back of the mouth) is prevalent in Southeast Asia. It often causes no symptoms until locally advanced. In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on 10 August 2017, blood plasma samples from more than 20,000 men of Chinese descent aged 40 to 62 living in Hong Kong were tested for circulating DNA fragments of the Epstein-Barr virus. There were persistently positive results in 309 men who were then offered examination of their nasopharynx with an endoscope and by MRI scanning. Of the 300 men examined 34 (11%) were found to have nasopharyngeal cancer, and it was at an early and potentially curable stage in 16 of them.

Cancer of the nasopharynx (that part of the throat between the back of the nose and the back of the mouth) is uncommon in the UK but is prevalent in Southeast Asia. Those at most risk are middle-aged men of Chinese descent, particularly smokers with a family history of the condition. Symptoms include a stuffy nose, nose bleeds, deafness or tinnitus...