Syphilis manifesting as a nasopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical lymphadenopathy: A case report
- Authors:
- Xinbin Pan
- Xiaodong Zhu
- Qingdi Quentin Li
View Affiliations
Affiliations: Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Published online on: April 2, 2012 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2012.535
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Pages:
1023-1025
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Abstract
The present case report describes a case of syphilitic lymphadenopathy and raises the awareness of the differential diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy. A 50-year-old male worker presented with a 6-month history of enlarged and growing lymph nodes in the right upper neck and a blood-tinged post-nasal drip. Physical examination showed multiple enlarged lymph nodes located in the right upper neck. On nasopharyngoscopy, a mass was found in the nasopharynx. The histopathology of both the nasopharyngeal mass and the enlarged lymph nodes revealed non-specific inflammation. Rapid plasma reagin test results (titer, 1:1280) and Treponema pallidum particle assay results (titer, 1:2560) were positive. Subsequently, a diagnosis of syphilis was confirmed clinically and serologically. The reaction after penicillin treatment further confirmed the syphilis diagnosis. Thus, syphilis should be considered as a possibility in the differential diagnosis of cervical lymphadenopathy.
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