Abstract:
Objective This work aims to investigate the long-term effect of induction chemotherapy (ICT) in patients with stage Ⅱ nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
Methods A total of 104 patients with stage Ⅱ NPC were divided into two groups based on different methods of the therapy. One group was treated by ICT followed by radiotherapy (RT) (Group A), whereas the other group was treated by RT alone (Group B). The five-year survival rates in the two groups were compared.
Results The median follow-up time was 61 months(range, 14–74 months). A total of 62 and 42 patients were assigned in Groups A and B, respectively. The five-year loco-regional recurrence free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) rates for Groups A and B were 92.9% vs. 86.9%(P=0.859), 91.9% vs. 97.6% (P=0.253), and 94.3% vs. 82.9% (P=0.164), respectively. Further analysis revealed that the five-year DMFS, OS, and LRRFS rates for stage T2N0, T1N1, and T2N1 cases were 100.0% vs. 100.0% vs. 78.3% (P=0.010), 100.0% vs. 100.0% vs. 85.2% (P=0.079), and 83.3% vs. 96.9% vs. 89.9% (P=0.393) in Group A.
Conclusions The survival rates of patients with stage Ⅱ NPC did not improve in Group A. However, a higher risk of distant failure was observed in stage T2N1 cases, which may need systemic chemotherapy.