67 cases of nasopharyngeal tumours presenting at the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital over a 10-year period were examined, of which 47 were poorly differentiated carcinomas. The population under review could be subdivided into three separate groups on the basis of geographical origin: Northern European, Southern European and Middle Eastern. The proportion of poorly differentiated carcinomas in each geographical area was calculated and was found to differ significantly between the Northern European and Middle Eastern groups.