Abstract
PurposeTo compare the outcomes of patients with ascending type (T4&N0-1) and descending type (T1-2&N3) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + intensity-modulated radiotherapy (RT) or NACT + CCRT.MethodsRetrospective analysis of 839 patients with ascending or descending types of NPC treated at a single institution between October 2009 to February 2012. CCRT was delivered to 236 patients, NACT + RT to 302 patients, and NACT + CCRT to 301 patients.ResultsThe 4-year overall survival rate, distant metastasis-free survival rate, local relapse-free survival rate, nodal relapse-free survival rate, loco-regional relapse-free survival rate, and progression free survival rate were 75.2% and 73.4% (P = 0.114), 85.7% and 74.1% (P = 0.008), 88.8% and 97.1% (P = 0.013), 96.9% and 94.1% (P = 0.122), 86.9% and 91.2% (P = 0.384), 73.7% and 66.2% (P = 0.063) in ascending type and descending type. Subgroup analyses indicated that NACT + RT significantly improved distant metastasis-free survival rate and progression-free survival rate when compared with CCRT in the ascending type, and there were no significant differences between the survival curves of NACT +RT and NACT + CCRT. For descending type, there were no significant differences among the survival curves of NACT +RT, CCRT, and NACT + CCRT groups, and the survival benefit mainly came from CCRT.ConclusionsCompared with NACT + CCRT or CCRT, NACT + RT may be a reasonable approach for ascending type. Although concurrent chemotherapy was effective in descending type, NACT + CCRT may be a more appropriate strategy for descending type.
Highlights
Long-term loco-regional control and overall survival (OS) in early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) exceeded 95% after the introduction of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) [1]
The 4-year overall survival rate, distant metastasis-free survival rate, local relapse-free survival rate, nodal relapse-free survival rate, loco-regional relapse-free survival rate, and progression free survival rate were 75.2% and 73.4% (P = 0.114), 85.7% and 74.1% (P = 0.008), 88.8% and 97.1% (P = 0.013), 96.9% and 94.1% (P = 0.122), 86.9% and 91.2% (P = 0.384), 73.7% and 66.2% (P = 0.063) in ascending type and descending type
Compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or CCRT, NACT + RT may be a reasonable approach for ascending type
Summary
Long-term loco-regional control and overall survival (OS) in early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) exceeded 95% after the introduction of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) [1]. Several publications [5,6] and meta-analyses [7,8] reported concurrent chemotherapy provides the largest survival benefit. Some clinical trials and meta-analyses [9,10] demonstrated neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) was well-tolerated and provided good outcomes, while others [11,12,13] question the value of concurrent chemotherapy in patients with locoregionally-advanced NPC (LA-NPC) treated with IMRT. These discrepancies may be due to the heterogeneity of LA-NPC. On the basis of premise, we hypothesized that the proportion of the ascending and descending types may directly affect the conclusions of research
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