Long-Term Results of Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for T4 Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: New Insight into the Value of Concurrent Chemotherapy

Abstract

The aim of the study was to report long-term results of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for patients with T4 classification nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). From September 2007 to January 2013, 155 patients were retrospectively analyzed. The estimated 10-year local recurrent-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrent-free survival (RRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) rates were 79.4%, 93.2%, 69.0%, and 54.2%, respectively. Cycle number of chemotherapy was a significant predictor of LRFS, OS, and progression-free survival. There was no significant difference in survival rates between patients treated with induction chemotherapy (IC) plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and patients with IC plus IMRT and adjuvant chemotherapy (AC).

Keywords:

• Intensity-modulated radiotherapy
• T4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma
• failure pattern
• concurrent chemotherapy
• neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Acknowledgments

We thank members of our research group for their helpful comments on the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.