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Treatment results and prognostic analysis of 1093 primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma: the experience of a single institution of Guangzhou in the beginning of the 21st century

  • Published:
The Chinese-German Journal of Clinical Oncology

Abstract

Objective

To analyze the treatment results of primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated in our institution in the beginning of the 21st century to identify key failures and late effects for refining future treatments.

Methods

1093 patients with primary NPC treated during December 2001 and June 2003 were retrospectively analyzed. The distribution according to the AJCC/UICC (2002 edition) staging system was stage I in 5.8%, stage II 40.2%, stage III 32.7% and stage IVa-b 21.3%. Four different ERT techniques were used: fluoroscopy simulation conventional radiotherapy (CR) in 74.3% of patients, computer tomography simulation conventional radiotherapy (CT-sim CR) 14.2%, three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) 6.3%, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) 5.2%. In the whole series, 46.7% of patients had additional treatment with chemotherapy.

Results

The 4-year local failure-free rate (LFFR), nodal failure-free rate, distant metastasis-free rate, progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) was 89.6%, 96.1%, 85.9%, 73.0% and 82.4%, respectively. The stage was the most important prognostic factor. The 4-year OS and LFFR of patients treated by CR, CT-sim CR, 3D-CRT and IMRT was 80.2%, 89.8%, 89.8%, 92.4% and 87.7%, 96.4%, 91.0%, 96.5%, respectively. The morbidity and degree of xerostomia and trismus were lower in the patients treated by 3D-CRT and IMRT than by CR and CT-sim CR.

Conclusion

Treatment results of primary NPC in our institution have been substantially improved. Distant metastasis is the main failure. The CT simulation and conformal radiotherapy can enhance the OS and LFFR, and conformal radiotherapy can reduce the morbidity and degree of late effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510060, China

    Xiaoqing Liu, Wei Luo, Mengzhong Liu, Ling Ye, Ying Sun & Yunfei Xia

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  1. Xiaoqing Liu
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  2. Wei Luo
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  3. Mengzhong Liu
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  4. Ling Ye
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  5. Ying Sun
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  6. Yunfei Xia
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Correspondence to Wei Luo.

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Liu, X., Luo, W., Liu, M. et al. Treatment results and prognostic analysis of 1093 primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma: the experience of a single institution of Guangzhou in the beginning of the 21st century. Chin. -Ger. J. Clin. Oncol. 7, 187–195 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10330-007-0177-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10330-007-0177-2

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