Exploratory Study of NPC-0501 Trial: Optimal Cisplatin Dose of Concurrent and Induction/Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

PURPOSE: The current recommendation for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is cisplatin-based induction chemotherapy (IC) or adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). However, data on the optimal platinum doses for each phase of combined regimens are lacking. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: 742 patients with NPC in the NPC-0501 trial treated with CRT plus IC/AC and irradiated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) were analyzed. The optimal platinum dose to achieve the best overall survival (OS) in the concurrent and induction/adjuvant phases was studied. RESULTS: Evaluation of the whole series shows the optimal platinum dose was 160 mg/m2 in the concurrent and 260 mg/m2 in the induction/adjuvant phase. Repeating the analyses on 591 patients treated with cisplatin throughout (no replacement by carboplatin) confirmed the same results. The cohort with optimal platinum doses in both phases had better OS than the cohort suboptimal in both phases (stage III: 90% vs. 75%; stage IVA-B: 80% vs. 56%, at 5-year). Multivariable analyses confirmed optimal platinum doses in both phases versus suboptimal dose in each phase are significant independent factors for OS, with HR of 0.61 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.41-0.91] and 0.67 (95% CI, 0.48-0.94), respectively. Treatment sequence was statistically insignificant after adjusting for platinum doses. CONCLUSIONS: Both concurrent and IC/AC are needed for locoregionally advanced NPC, even for patients irradiated by IMRT; the concurrent platinum dosage could be set at ≥160 mg/m2 when coupled with adequate induction/adjuvant dosage at ≥260 mg/m2 (or at least ≥240 mg/m2). To achieve these optimal dosages, IC-CRT at conventional fractionation is favored.

Preliminary results of radiation dose escalation for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To study the safety and efficacy of dose escalation in tumor for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS AND MATERIALS: From September 2000 to June 2004, 50 patients with T3-T4 NPC were treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Fourteen patients had Stage III and 36 patients had Stage IVA-IVB disease. The prescribed dose was 76 Gy to gross tumor volume (GTV), 70 Gy to planning target volume (PTV), and 72 Gy to enlarged neck nodes (GTVn). All doses were given in 35 fractions over 7 weeks. Thirty-four patients also had concurrent cisplatin and induction or adjuvant PF (cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil). RESULTS: The average mean dose achieved in GTV, GTVn, and PTV were 79.5 Gy, 75.3 Gy, and 74.6 Gy, respectively. The median follow-up was 25 months, with 4 recurrences: 2 locoregional and 2 distant failures. All patients with recurrence had IMRT alone without chemotherapy. The 2-year locoregional control rate, distant metastases-free and disease-free survivals were 95.7%, 94.2%, and 93.1%, respectively. One treatment-related death caused by adjuvant chemotherapy occurred. The 2-year overall survival was 92.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Dose escalation to 76 Gy in tumor is feasible with T3-T4 NPC and can be combined with chemotherapy. Initial results showed good local control and survival.

Concurrent and adjuvant chemotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a factorial study.

PURPOSE: To study the efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with Ho's stage T3 or N2/N3 NPC or neck node > or = 4 cm were eligible. Patients were randomly assigned to have radiotherapy (RT) or CRT with uracil and tegafur and to have AC or no AC after RT/CRT. AC comprised alternating cisplatin, fluorouracil, vincristine, bleomycin, and methotrexate for six cycles. There were four treatment groups: A, RT; B, CRT; C, RT and AC; D, CRT and AC. For CRT versus RT, groups B and D were compared with groups A and C. For AC versus no AC, groups C and D were compared with groups A and B. RESULTS: Three-year failure-free survival (FFS) and overall survival (OS) for CRT versus RT were 69.3% versus 57.8% and 86.5% versus 76.8%, respectively (P =.14 and.06; n = 110 v 109). Distant metastases rate (DMR) was significantly reduced with CRT (14.8% v 29.4%; P =.026). Locoregional failure rates (LRFR) were similar (20% v 27.6%; P =.39). Three-year FFS and OS for AC versus no AC were 62.5% versus 65% and 80.4% versus 83.1%, respectively (P =.83 and.69; n = 111 v 108). DMR and LRFR were not reduced with AC (P =.34 and.15, respectively). Cox model showed CRT to be a favorable prognostic factor for OS (hazard ratio, 0.42; P =.009). CONCLUSION: An improvement in OS with CRT was observed but did not achieve statistical significance. The improvement seemed to be associated with a significant reduction in DMR. AC did not improve outcome.