Facial palsy from metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma at various sites: three reports.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma that causes clinically evident facial palsy is uncommon. This article describes and discusses a series of cases that illustrates how nasopharyngeal carcinoma caused facial palsy as a result of facial nerve involvement at three sites: the cerebellopontine angle, the middle ear, and the parotid. The maxim, "All that palsies is not Bell's," is particularly relevant with respect to patients who have previously been treated for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In these patients, recurrent or persistent nasopharyngeal carcinoma involving the cerebellopontine angle, temporal bone, or parotid should be excluded.