Abstract:
Objective The role of induction chemotherapy (IC) and preferred regimens is not very clear in non-endemic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in northern China.
Methods A total of 170 pathologically proven locoregional advanced NPCs between January 2012 and December 2014 were included in this analysis. One hundred and twenty-six were men and 44 patients were women. According to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 7th stage system, 48 patients were T1-2 and 77 patients were T3-4; 48 patients were N0-1 and 122 patients were N2-3; 27 patients were stage Ⅱ, 105 patients were stage Ⅲ, and 38 patients were stage IVa-b.
Results The median follow-up time was 34 months. The 3-year overall survival (OS), locoregional failure-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were 82.8%, 91.5%, 76.7%, and 69.1%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that IC with TPF (docetaxel, carboplatin, and fluorouracil) or TP (docetaxel and cisplatin) presented superior DFS and DMFS compared with PF (cisplatin+5-FU) DFS-hazard ratio (HR): 1.820, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.013-3.271, P=0.045; DMFS-HR: 2.240, 95% CI: 1.017-4.090, P=0.045.
Conclusions The IC regimens appeared to affect patients' outcomes, and TP-containing IC regimens conferred better DFS and DMFS than PF regimens.