Nasopharyngeal carcinoma at the National Institute of Oncology

Abstract

e17055 Background: To evaluate the disease characteristics and outcome of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated at the National Institute of Oncology (NIO) Rabat, Morocco. Methods: Between 1999 and 2001, 468 patients with a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated at the NIO. The median age was 42 years (range 10 to 83). The male/female ratio was 2.5/1. Of the 468 patients, 88 (19%), and 380 (81%) had T1-T2, and T3- T4 (TNM International Union Against Cancer staging system, 1997), respectively. Ninety percent presented with nodal metastasis. 163 patients (35%) had lymph nodes >6 cm, and 229 (49%) had bilateral nodes at presentation. Histologically, 405 patients (86%) had undifferentiated carcinoma. Seventy-six percent received neoadjuvant multiagent chemotherapy containing cisplatin, followed by radiotherapy (RT). Results: After a median follow-up of 26 months, the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rate for the entire group was 27% and 41%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves were used for evaluation of prognostic factors and were compared using the log-rank test. Nodal status had a significant impact on OS (p < 0.001). Complete responders to chemotherapy had superior DFS and OS. Conclusions: Combined modality management using chemotherapy and RT resulted in satisfactory locoregional control and OS in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Nodal involvement and response to chemotherapy were important prognostic factors. No significant financial relationships to disclose.