Comparison of efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy and intensity-modulated radiotherapy alone for patients with stage T1-2N1M0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma in an unendemic area / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objectives: To compare the efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) alone and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with stage T1-2N1M0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in an unendemic area. Methods: Between January 2010 and December 2015, 102 patients with stage T1-2N1M0 NPC who underwent radical radiotherapy were selected for a pair analysis. Survival rates and acute adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results: The 5-year overall survival (OS), local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rates were 94.1%, 93.6%, 96.7%, and 90.9%, respectively. Compared with IMRT alone, CCRT failed to significantly improve the 5-year OS (95.9% vs. 92.2%, P=0.894), LRFS (94.1% vs. 93.3%, P=0.976), RRFS (95.8% vs. 97.6%, P=0.572) and DMFS (91.4% vs. 90.2%, P=0.716)rates. The incidence rates of vomiting, neutropenia, leukopenia, decreased hemoglobin levels, and mucositis were significantly higher in the CCRT group than in the IMRT-alone group. Conclusions: For patients with stage T1-2N0M0 disease, CCRT failed to improve the prognosis, but increased the incidence rates of acute toxicities.