ABSTRACT
Carcinoma of the nasopharynx is the most common head and neck tumor in many Arab countries. It is especially frequent in the State of Kuwait, situated south of Iraq and north of Saudi Arabia along the Arabian Gulf. The variation in incidence of Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) between various ethnic groups and geographical areas suggest that genetic and/or different environmental factors may play an important role in its development. NPC which has several epidemiological and clinicopathological features of great interest was unexpectedly found to be associated with Epstein-Barr virus. There is a different physical and climatic environment in South China and Southeast Asia from that in Arab countries of North Africa and the Middle East. But it is possible that some of the dietary factors might be common in areas where NPC has a significant incidence. Patients have a younger average age especially those with lympho-reticular neoplasms which are unusually frequent.
