Effect of Induction Chemotherapy With Paclitaxel, Cisplatin, and Capecitabine vs Cisplatin and Fluorouracil on Failure-Free Survival for Patients With Stage IVA to IVB Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Multicenter Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Induction chemotherapy added to concurrent chemoradiotherapy significantly improves survival for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but the optimal induction regimen remains unclear. Objective: To determine whether induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel, cisplatin, and capecitabine (TPC) improves survival vs cisplatin and fluorouracil (PF) prior to chemoradiotherapy for patients with stage IVA to IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Design, Setting, and Participants: This randomized, open-label, phase 3 clinical trial recruited 238 patients at 4 hospitals in China from October 20, 2016, to August 29, 2019. Patients were 18 to 65 years of age with treatment-naive, nonkeratinizing stage IVA to IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 1. Interventions: Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive induction chemotherapy with two 21-day cycles of TPC (intravenous paclitaxel [150 mg/m2, day 1], intravenous cisplatin [60 mg/m2, day 1], and oral capecitabine [1000 mg/m2 orally twice daily, days 1-14]) or PF (intravenous cisplatin [100 mg/m2, day 1] and fluorouracil [800 mg/m2 daily, days 1-5]), followed by chemoradiotherapy. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was failure-free survival in the intention-to-treat population. Secondary end points included distant metastasis-free survival, locoregional relapse-free survival, overall survival, tumor response, and safety. Results: Overall, 238 eligible patients (187 men [78.6%]; median age, 45 years [range, 18-65 years]) were randomly assigned to receive TPC (n = 118) or PF (n = 120). The median follow-up duration was 48.4 months (IQR, 39.6-53.3 months). Failure-free survival at 3 years was 83.5% (95% CI, 77.0%-90.6%) in the TPC group and 68.9% (95% CI, 61.1%-77.8%) in the PF group (stratified hazard ratio [HR] for recurrence or death, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.28-0.79; P = .004). Induction with the TPC regimen resulted in a significant reduction in the risk of distant metastases (stratified HR, 0.49 [95% CI, 0.24-0.98]; P = .04) and locoregional recurrence (stratified HR, 0.40 [95% CI, 0.18-0.93]; P = .03) compared with the PF regimen. However, there was no effect on early overall survival (stratified HR, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.17-1.18]; P = .10). The incidences of grade 3 to 4 acute adverse events and late-onset toxicities were 57.6% (n = 68) and 13.6% (16 of 118), respectively, in the TPC group and 65.8% (n = 79) and 17.9% (21 of 117), respectively, in the PF group. One treatment-related death occurred in the PF group. Conclusions and Relevance: This randomized clinical trial found that induction chemotherapy with 2 cycles of TPC for patients with stage IVA to IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma improved failure-free survival compared with 2 cycles of PF, with no increase in the toxicity profile. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02940925.

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Two Different Schedules for Cisplatin Treatment in Patients with Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer.

PURPOSE: Previous studies suggest that a cumulative cisplatin dose of 200 mg/m2 might be adequate in the intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) era for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC). However, two cycles of once-every-3-weeks cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 has never been prospectively compared with standard once-a-week cisplatin regimen. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This trial was conducted at three hospitals from 2011 to 2016. Patients who met the eligibility criteria were recruited (ChiCTR-TRC-12001979) and randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequence to receive once-every-3-weeks cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 for two cycles or once-a-week cisplatin at 40 mg/m2 for six cycles concurrently with IMRT. Primary endpoint was failure-free survival and between-group absolute difference of 10% as the noninferiority margin. RESULTS: A total of 510 patients were enrolled. Median follow-up time was 58.3 months with 85.4% of 3-year failure-free survival in the once-every-3-weeks group and 85.6% in the once-a-week group. An absolute difference of -0.2% (95% confidence interval, -6.3 to 5.9; P noninferiority = 0.0016). Acute toxicities of grade 3 or higher occurred in 55.8% in the once-every-3-weeks group and 66.3% in the once-a-week group (P = 0.015). The most common acute toxicities were hematologic abnormalities, including leukopenia (16% vs. 27%; P = 0.0022) and thrombocytopenia (1% vs. 5%; P = 0.015). The late grade 3-4 auditory loss rate was significantly lower in the once-every-3-weeks group than the once-a-week group (6% vs. 13%; P = 0.0039). CONCLUSIONS: Once-every-3-weeks cisplatin as concurrent chemoradiotherapy is noninferior to once-a-week cisplatin in the treatment efficacy in the LANPC. Although both regimens are well tolerated, severe acute toxicities and late-onset auditory loss are higher in the once-a-week group.

Induction chemotherapy with lobaplatin and fluorouracil versus cisplatin and fluorouracil followed by chemoradiotherapy in patients with stage III-IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin-based induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma has been recommended in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines. However, cisplatin is associated with poor patient compliance and has notable side-effects. Lobaplatin, a third-generation platinum drug, has shown promising antitumour activity against several malignancies with less toxicity. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of lobaplatin-based induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy over a cisplatin-based regimen in patients with locoregional, advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS: In this open-label, non-inferiority, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial done at five hospitals in China, patients aged 18-60 years with previously untreated, non-keratinising stage III-IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Karnofsky performance-status score of at least 70; and adequate haematological, renal, and hepatic function were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive intravenously either lobaplatin-based (lobaplatin 30 mg/m2 on days 1 and 22, and fluorouracil 800 mg/m2 on days 1-5 and 22-26 for two cycles) or cisplatin-based (cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on days 1 and 22, and fluorouracil 800 mg/m2 on days 1-5 and 22-26 for two cycles) induction chemotherapy, followed by concurrent lobaplatin-based (two cycles of intravenous lobaplatin 30 mg/m2 every 3 weeks plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy) or cisplatin-based (two cycles of intravenous cisplatin 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy) chemoradiotherapy. Total radiation doses of 68-70 Gy (for the sum of the volumes of the primary tumour and enlarged retropharyngeal nodes), 62-68 Gy (for the volume of clinically involved gross cervical lymph nodes), 60 Gy (for the high-risk target volume), and 54 Gy (for the low-risk target volume), were administered in 30-32 fractions, 5 days per week. Randomisation was done centrally at the clinical trial centre of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Centre by means of computer-generated random number allocation with a block design (block size of four) stratified according to disease stage and treatment centre. Treatment assignment was known to both clinicians and patients. The primary endpoint was 5-year progression-free survival, analysed in both the intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations. If the upper limit of the 95% CI for the difference in 5-year progression-free survival between the lobaplatin-based and cisplatin-based groups did not exceed 10%, non-inferiority was met. Adverse events were analysed in all patients who received at least one cycle of induction chemotherapy. This trial is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-TRC-13003285 and is closed. FINDINGS: From June 7, 2013, to June 16, 2015, 515 patients were assessed for eligibility and 502 patients were enrolled: 252 were randomly assigned to the lobaplatin-based group and 250 to the cisplatin-based group. After a median follow-up of 75·3 months (IQR 69·9-81·1) in the intention-to-treat population, 5-year progression-free survival was 75·0% (95% CI 69·7-80·3) in the lobaplatin-based group and 75·5% (70·0 to 81·0) in the cisplatin-based group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·98, 95% CI 0·69-1·39; log-rank p=0·92), with a difference of 0·5% (95% CI -7·1 to 8·1; pnon-inferiority=0·0070). In the per-protocol population, the 5-year progression-free survival was 74·8% (95% CI 69·3 to 80·3) in the lobaplatin-based group and 76·4% (70·9 to 81·9) in the cisplatin-based group (HR 1·04, 95% CI 0·73 to 1·49; log-rank p=0·83), with a difference of 1·6% (-6·1 to 9·3; pnon-inferiority=0·016). 63 (25%) of 252 patients in the lobaplatin-based group and 63 (25%) of 250 patients in the cisplatin-based group had a progression-free survival event in the intention-to-treat population; 62 (25%) of 246 patients in the lobaplatin-based group and 58 (25%) of 237 patients in the cisplatin-based group had a progression-free survival event in the per-protocol population. The most common grade 3-4 adverse events were mucositis (102 [41%] of 252 in the lobaplatin-based group vs 99 [40%] of 249 in the cisplatin-based group), leucopenia (39 [16%] vs 56 [23%]), and neutropenia (25 [10%] vs 59 [24%]). No treatment-related deaths were reported. INTERPRETATION: Lobaplatin-based induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy resulted in non-inferior survival and fewer toxic effects than cisplatin-based therapy. The results of our trial indicate that lobaplatin-based induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy might be a promising alternative regimen to cisplatin-based treatment in patients with locoregional, advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. FUNDING: National Science and Technology Pillar Program, International Cooperation Project of Science and Technology Program of Guangdong Province, Planned Science and Technology Project of Guangdong Province, and Cultivation Foundation for the Junior Teachers at Sun Yat-sen University. TRANSLATION: For the Chinese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: long-term results of a phase III multicentre randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Initial 3-year results from our clinical trial in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients showed that induction chemotherapy (IC) with cisplatin and fluorouracil resulted in improved disease-free survival (DFS) with a marginally significant effect on distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), but the effect of IC on locoregional relapse-free survival and overall survival (OS) did not differ significantly. Here, we present 5-year follow-up results. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our trial was a randomised, open-label phase III trial comparing IC followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) versus CCRT alone in patients with stage III-IVB (except T3N0-1) NPC. The IC followed by CCRT group received cisplatin (80 mg/m2 d1) and fluorouracil (800 mg/m2 d1-5) every 3 weeks for two cycles before CCRT. Both groups were treated with 80 mg/m2 cisplatin every 3 weeks concurrently with radiotherapy. The primary end-points were DFS and DMFS. We did efficacy analyses in the 476 randomised patients (intention-to-treat population). RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 82.6 months, the 5-year DFS rate was 73.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 67.7-79.1) in the IC followed by CCRT group and 63.1% (95% CI 56.8-69.4) in the CCRT alone group (p = 0.007). The 5-year DMFS rate was also significantly higher in the IC followed by CCRT group (82.8%, 95% CI 77.9-87.7) than in the CCRT alone group (73.1%, 95% CI 67.2-79.0, p = 0.014). Our updated analysis revealed an OS benefit of IC: the 5-year OS rate was 80.8% in the IC followed by CCRT group versus 76.8% in the CCRT alone group (p = 0.040). The proportion of patients with eye damage was significantly higher in the CCRT alone group than the IC followed by CCRT group (16.4% [39/238] versus 9.7% [23/238], p = 0.029). CONCLUSION: IC followed by CCRT provides long-term DFS, DMFS and OS benefits compared with CCRT alone in locoregionally advanced NPC and, therefore, can be recommended for these patients.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with nedaplatin versus cisplatin in stage II-IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an open-label, non-inferiority, randomised phase 3 trial.

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is currently considered to be the standard treatment regimen for patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but has well known side-effects such as gastrointestinal reactions, nephrotoxicity, and ototoxicity. Nedaplatin was developed to decrease the toxic effects induced by cisplatin, and in this trial we assessed whether a nedaplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy regimen was non-inferior to a cisplatin-based regimen in patients with locoregional, stage II-IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS: We did an open-label, non-inferiority, phase 3, randomised, controlled trial at two centres in China. Patients aged 18-65 years with non-keratinising stage II-IVB (T1-4N1-3 or T3-4N0) nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a Karnofsky score of at least 70, and adequate haematological, renal, and hepatic function were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive intravenously either nedaplatin 100 mg/m2 or cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on days 1, 22, and 43 for three cycles concurrently with intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Randomisation was done manually using a computer-generated random number code and patients were stratified by treatment centre and clinical stage. Patients and clinicians were not masked to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival at 2 years; non-inferiority was shown if the upper limit of the 95% CI for the difference in 2-year progression-free survival between the two groups did not exceed 10%. Analyses were by both intention to treat and per protocol, including all patients who received at least one complete cycle of chemotherapy. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01540136, and is currently in follow-up. FINDINGS: Between Jan 16, 2012, and July 16, 2014, we randomly assigned 402 patients to nedaplatin-based (n=201) or cisplatin-based (n=201) concurrent chemoradiotherapy. In the intention-to-treat population, 2-year progression-free survival was 89·9% (95% CI 85·8-94·0) in the cisplatin group and 88·0% (83·5-94·5) in the nedaplatin group, with a difference of 1·9% (95% CI -4·2 to 8·0; pnon-inferiority=0·0048). In the per-protocol analysis (cisplatin group, n=197; nedaplatin group, n=196), 2-year progression-free survival was 89·7% (95% CI 85·4-94·0) in the cisplatin group and 88·7% (84·2-94·5) in the nedaplatin group, with a difference of 1·0% (95% CI -5·2 to 7·0; pnon-inferiority=0·0020). A significantly higher frequency of grade 3 or 4 vomiting (35 [18%] of 198 in the cisplatin group vs 12 [6%] of 200 in the nedaplatin group, p<0·0001), nausea (18 [9%] vs four [2%], p=0·0021), and anorexia (53 [27%] vs 26 [13%], p=0·00070) was observed in the cisplatin group compared with the nedaplatin group. 11 (6%) patients in the nedaplatin group had grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia compared with four (2%) in the cisplatin group (p=0·065). Patients in the cisplatin group had a higher frequency of any grade or grade 3 or 4 late auditory or hearing toxicities than did patients in the nedaplatin group (grade 3 or 4: three [2%] in the nedaplatin group vs 11 [6%] in the cisplatin group, p=0·030). No patients died from treatment-related causes. INTERPRETATION: Our findings show that nedaplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy represents an alternative doublet treatment strategy to cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy for patients with locoregional, advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Further investigations are needed to explore the potential use of this treatment as induction or adjuvant chemotherapy or in combination with other agents. FUNDING: National Key R&D Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Sun Yat-sen University Clinical Research 5010 Program, Sci-Tech Project Foundation of Guangzhou City, National Key Basic Research Program of China, Special Support Plan of Guangdong Province, Sci-Tech Project Foundation of Guangdong Province, Health & Medical Collaborative Innovation Project of Guangzhou City, National Science & Technology Pillar Program during the Twelfth Five-year Plan Period, PhD Start-up Fund of Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, Cultivation Foundation for the Junior Teachers in Sun Yat-sen University, and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Pretreatment quality of life as a predictor of survival for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with IMRT.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the prognostic significance of pretreatment quality of life for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy. METHODS: We performed a prospective, longitudinal study on 554 newly diagnosed patients with NPC from April 2011 to January 2015. A total of 501 consecutive NPC patients were included. Patients were asked to complete the EORTC QLQ-C30 (version 3.0) and QLQ-H&N35 questionnaires before treatment. RESULTS: Global health status among QLQ-C30 correlates with EBV DNA(P = 0.019). In addition, pretreatment appetite loss was significantly correlated with EBV DNA(P = 0.02). Pretreatment teeth, opening mouth, feeding tube was significantly correlated with EBV DNA, with P value of 0.003, < 0.0001, and 0.031, respectively. In multivariate analysis, pretreatment cognitive functioning of QLQ-C30 was significantly associated with LRFS, with HR of 0.971(95%CI 0.951-0.990), P = 0.004. Among scales of QLQ-H&N35 for multivariate analysis, pretreatment teeth (P = 0.026) and felt ill (P = 0.012) was significantly associated with PFS, with HR of 0.984 (95%CI 0.971-.998) and 1.004 (95%CI 1.001-1.007), respectively. Felt ill of QLQ-H&N35 was significantly associated with DMFS, with HR of 1.004(95%CI 1.000-1.007), P = 0.043. There is no QoL scale significantly associated with OS after multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our analysis confirms that pretreatment teeth and felt ill was significantly associated with PFS in NPC patients treated with IMRT. In addition, the posttreatment EBV DNA was significantly associated with OS.

Pretreatment Serum Amyloid A and C-reactive Protein Comparing with Epstein-Barr Virus DNA as Prognostic Indicators in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Prospective Study.

PURPOSE: The measuring Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is an important predictor of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study evaluated the predictive value of pretreatment serum amyloid A (SAA) and C-reactive protein (CRP) comparing with EBV DNA in patients with NPC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In an observational study of 419 non-metastatic NPC patients, we prospectively evaluated the prognostic effects of pretreatment SAA, CRP, and EBV DNA on survival. The primary endpoint was progress-free survival (PFS). RESULTS: The median level of SAA and CRP was 4.28 mg/L and 1.88 mg/L, respectively. For the highSAA group (> 4.28 mg/L) versus the low-SAA (≤ 4.28 mg/L) group and the high-CRP group (> 1.88 mg/L) versus the low-CRP (≤ 1.88 mg/L) group, the 5-year PFS was 64.5% versus 73.1% (p=0.013) and 65.2% versus 73.3% (p=0.064), respectively. EBV DNA detection showed a superior predictive result, the 5-year PFS in the EBV DNA ≥ 1,500 copies/mL group was obviously different than the EBV DNA < 1,500 copies/mL group (62.2% versus 77.8%, p < 0.001). Multifactorial Cox regression analysis confirmed that in the PFS, the independent prognostic factors were including EBV DNA (hazard ratio [HR], 1.788; p=0.009), tumour stage (HR, 1.903; p=0.021), and node stage (HR, 1.498; p=0.049), but the SAA and CRP were not included in the independent prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: The results of SAA and CRP had a certain relationship with the prognosis of NPC, and the prognosis of patients with high level of SAA and CRP were poor. However, the predictive ability of SAA and CRP was lower than that of EBV DNA.

Combination of Tumor Volume and Epstein-Barr Virus DNA Improved Prognostic Stratification of Stage II Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in the Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy Era: A Large-Scale Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: Little is known about combination of the circulating Epstein-Barr viral (EBV) DNA and tumor volume in prognosis of stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients in the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) era. We conducted this cohort study to evaluate the prognostic values of combining these two factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By Kaplan-Meier, we compare the differences of survival curves between 385 patients with different EBV DNA or tumor volume levels, or with the combination of two biomarkers mentioned above. RESULTS: Gross tumor volume of cervical lymph nodes (GTVnd, p < 0.001) and total tumor volume (GTVtotal, p < 0.001) were both closely related to pretreatment EBV DNA, while gross tumor volume of nasopharynx (GTVnx, p=0.047) was weakly related to EBV DNA. EBV DNA was significantly correlated with progress-free survival (PFS, p=0.005), locoregional-free survival (LRFS, p=0.039), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS, p=0.017), while GTVtotal, regardless of GTVnx and GTVnd, had a significant correlation with PFS and LRFS. The p-values of GTVtotal for PFS and LRFS were 0.008 and 0.001, respectively. According to GTVtotal and pretreatment EBV DNA level, patients were divided into a low-risk group (EBV DNA 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal < 30 cm3; EBV DNA 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal ≥ 30 cm3; or EBV DNA > 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal < 30 cm3) and a high-risk group (EBV DNA > 0 copy/mL, GTVtotal ≥ 30 cm3). When patients in the low-risk group were compared with those in the high-risk group, 3-year PFS (p=0.003), LRFS (p=0.010), and DMFS (p=0.031) rates were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Pretreatment plasma EBV DNA and tumor volume were both closely correlated with prognosis of stage II NPC patients in the IMRT era. Combination of EBV DNA and tumor volume can refine prognosis and indicate for clinical therapy.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without cetuximab for stage II to IVb nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcome and toxicities in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with/without adding cetuximab. METHODS: A total of 62 patients treated with CCRT plus cetuximab were matched with 124 patients treated with CCRT alone by age, sex, pathological type, T category, N category, disease stage, radiotherapy (RT) technique, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Treatment toxicities were clarified and compared between two groups. RESULTS: A total of 186 well-balanced stage II to IV NPC patients were retrospectively analyzed (median follow-up, 76 months). Compared to CCRT alone, adding cetuximab resulted in more grade 3 to 4 radiation mucositis (51.6% vs. 23.4%; P < 0.001). No differences were found between the CCRT + cetuximab group and the CCRT group in 5-year OS (89.7% vs. 90.7%, P = 0.386), 3-year PFS (83.9% vs. 88.7%, P = 0.115), the 3-year LRFS (95.0% vs. 96.7%, P = 0.695), and the 3-year DMFS (88.4% vs 91.9%, P = 0.068). Advanced disease stage was the independent prognostic factor predicting poorer OS and PFS. CONCLUSION: Adding cetuximab to CCRT did not significantly improve benefits in survival in stage II to IV NPC and exacerbated acute mucositis and acneiform rash. Further investigations are warranted.

Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy with or without Anti-EGFR-Targeted Treatment for Stage II-IVb Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Retrospective Analysis with a Large Cohort and Long Follow-up.

We examined the benefits of the combination of anti-EGFR targeted treatment, cetuximab (CTX) or nimotuzumab (NTZ) and concurrent platinum-based chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) compared with CCRT alone in patients with stage II - IVb nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 1,628 eligible patients with stage II - IVb NPC, who received CCRT (three cycles of 100 mg/m2 cisplatin every 3 weeks with intensity-modulated radiotherapy) with or without CTX or NTZ between June 2009 and December 2013 were included in the analysis. Using propensity scores to adjust for potential prognostic factors, a well-balanced cohort of 878 patients was created by matching each patient who received CTX or NTZ plus CCRT with no more than four patients who received CCRT alone (1:4). Efficacy and safety were compared between CTX/NTZ plus CCRT and CCRT alone arms. Compared with CCRT alone, treatment with CTX/NTZ plus CCRT was associated with a significantly increased overall survival (3-year OS, 96.6% vs. 92.9%, P = 0.015), improved disease-free survival (3-year DFS, 93.5% vs 86.9%, P = 0.028), and improved distant metastasis-free survival (3-year DMFS, 94.6% vs 89.3%, P = 0.030). Increased rate of CTX related-skin reaction and mucositis was observed in the CTX plus CCRT arm. Multivariate analysis demonstrated the combination of CTX/NTZ was a significant protective factor for OS, DFS, and DMFS in patients treated with CCRT. Our analysis suggests that the addition of CTX/NTZ to CCRT is more effective for maximizing survival in patients with stage II-IVb NPC compared with CCRT alone.

Cetuximab or nimotuzumab plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy versus cisplatin plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy for stage II-IVb nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

To compare intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with cisplatin (CDDP) versus cetuximab (CTX) and nimotuzumab (NTZ) for Stage II-IVb Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC). A total of 1,837 patients with stage II-IVb NPC who received IMRT plus CTX or NTZ, or CDDP between January 2009 and December 2013 were included in the current analysis. Using propensity scores to adjust for potential prognostic factors, a well-balanced cohort of 715 patients was created by matching each patient who underwent IMRT plus concomitant NTZ/CTX with four patients who underwent IMRT plus concomitant CDDP (1:4). Efficacy and safety were compared between the CTX/NTZ and CDDP groups of this well-balanced cohort. Furthermore, we conducted multivariate analysis and subgroup analysis based on all the 1,837 eligible cases. There was no significant difference between CTX/NTZ group and CDDP group in terms of DFS (3-year, 86.7% vs. 86.2%, p > 0.05), LRRFS (96.2% vs. 96.3%, p > 0.05), DMFS (91.1% vs. 92.3%, p > 0.05) and OS (91.7% vs. 91.9%, p > 0.05). Subgroup analysis demonstrated a significant interaction effect between patients with IMRT plus CTX/NTZ and N3 node stage on LRRFS with the highest risk of loco-regional relapse (HR 8.85, p = 0.001). Significantly increased hematologic toxicities, gastrointestinal reactions were observed in the CDDP group (p < 0.05). Patients of 3.4-4.7% experienced severe hematologic toxicities during the treatment with concomitant CTX and NTZ. Increased rate of CTX related-skin reaction and mucositis was observed in the CTX group. CTX/NTZ used concurrently with IMRT may be comparable to those of the standard CDDP-IMRT combination for maximizing survival for patients with stage II-IVb NPC.

A retrospective study comparing the outcomes and toxicities of intensity-modulated radiotherapy versus two-dimensional conventional radiotherapy for the treatment of children and adolescent nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PURPOSE: To compare the clinical outcomes and toxicities of two-dimensional conventional radiotherapy (2D-CRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for the treatment of children and adolescent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: A total of 176 children with non-metastatic NPC treated at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center between October 2003 and September 2013 were included in this study. Of the 176 patients, 74 received 2D-CRT and 102 were treated with IMRT. The clinical outcomes and acute and late toxicities were determined and compared. RESULTS: The IMRT group achieved significantly higher overall survival (OS) (90.4% vs. 76.1% at 5 year, P = 0.007) and disease-free survival (DFS) (85.7% vs. 71.2%, P = 0.029) mainly due to an improvement in locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) (97.9 vs. 88.3%, P = 0.049). After stratification by disease stage, IMRT provided significant benefits for patients with stage III-IV disease in terms of OS, LRRFS and DFS. Multivariate analyses indicated that the treatment group (2D-CRT vs. IMRT) was a prognostic factor for OS, LRRFS and DFS. A significant reduction in Grade 2-4 xerostomia (52.7 vs. 34.3%, P = 0.015) and hearing loss (40.5 vs. 22.5%, P = 0.010) was observed in patients treated by IMRT. CONCLUSION: IMRT provides better locoregional relapse-free survival and overall survival, especially in late-stage children and adolescent NPC patients, and is associated with a lower incidence of Grade 2-4 xerostomia as well as hearing loss compared with 2D-CRT. Distant metastasis remains a challenge in the treatment of children and adolescent NPC.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A phase III multicentre randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of NACT followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) versus CCRT alone in locoregionally advanced NPC. METHODS: Patients with stage III-IVB (excluding T3N0-1) NPC were randomly assigned to receive NACT followed by CCRT (investigational arm) or CCRT alone (control arm). Both arms were treated with 80 mg/m2 cisplatin every 3 weeks concurrently with radiotherapy. The investigational arm received cisplatin (80 mg/m2 d1) and fluorouracil (800 mg/m2 civ d1-5) every 3 weeks for two cycles before CCRT. The primary end-point was disease-free survival (DFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). Secondary end-point was overall survival (OS). Survival curves for the time-to-event endpoints were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. The P value was calculated using the 5-year endpoints. RESULTS: Four hundred seventy six patients were randomly assigned to the investigational (n = 238) and control arms (n = 238). The investigational arm achieved higher 3-year DFS rate (82.0%, 95% CI = 0.77-0.87) than the control arm (74.1%, 95% CI = 0.68-0.80, P = 0.028). The 3-year DMFS rate was 86.0% for the investigational arm versus 82.0% for the control arm, with marginal statistical significance (P = 0.056). However, there were no statistically significant differences in OS or locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) rates between two arms (OS: 88.2% versus 88.5%, P = 0.815; LRRFS: 94.3% versus 90.8%, P = 0.430). The most common grade 3-4 toxicity during NACT was neutropenia (16.0%). During CCRT, the investigational arm experienced statistically significantly more grade 3-4 toxicities (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: NACT improved tumour control compared with CCRT alone in locoregionally advanced NPC, particularly at distant sites. However, there was no early gain in OS. Longer follow-up is needed to determine the eventual therapeutic efficacy.

Advanced-Stage Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Restaging System after Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on the Basis of MR Imaging Determines Survival.

Purpose To evaluate the prognostic value of the restaging system after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients with advanced-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Materials and Methods This study was approved by the clinical research committee and a written informed consent was required before enrolling in the study. Prospectively enrolled were 412 consecutive patients with stage III-IVb NPC treated with NACT followed by concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Patients were staged before NACT and restaged after NACT. The progression-free survival (PFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences were compared by using the log-rank test. Results Post-NACT T classification (PFS, P = .001) and N classification (PFS, P < .001; DMFS, P = .001) resulted in better survival curve separations than pre-NACT T classification and N classification. Patients downstaged from N2-N3 to N0-N1 disease had a better prognosis than did patients who continued to have N2-N3 diseases (3-year PFS, 83.8% vs 66.6%, P = .001; 3-year DMFS, 88.0% vs 78.4%, P = .026). Multivariate analysis revealed that post-NACT T classification (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18, 2.36; P = .003) and post-NACT N classification (HR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.03; P = .002) were independent prognostic factors for PFS; also, post-NACT N classification (HR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.07; P = .025) was an independent prognostic factor for DMFS. Multivariate analysis in patients with N2-N3 disease demonstrated that the N downstaging effects of NACT was the only independent prognostic factor for PFS (HR = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.29, 0.81; P = .006) and DMFS (HR = 0.52; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.97; P = .039). Conclusion The post-NACT stage is more representative of prognosis than the pre-NACT stage in advanced-stage NPC patients, which suggests that major clinical decisions should be based on the post-NACT stage. © RSNA, 2016 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Type 2 Diabetic Mellitus Is a Risk Factor for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A 1:2 Matched Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes has been identified as an adverse prognostic variable which associated with an increased mortality in various cancers, including colorectal, lung, and breast cancers. However, previous studies provided inconsistent results on the association between diabetes and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The main aim of this study was to investigate the associations between diabetes mellitus and the survival of NPC patients. METHODS: This study was designed as a 1:2 matched case-control study. Cases were patients who met the criteria for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetic mellitus (DM) below. Controls, matched 1:2, were patients who were normoglycemic (NDM). The survival rates were assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis, and the survival curves were compared using a log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the Cox proportional hazard regression model. RESULTS: Both locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in the NDM group were higher than that in the DM group (p = 0.001 and p = 0.033). Additionally, subset analyses revealed that the differences in OS, LRRFS, and DFS were all significant between the two groups in the N0-N1 subset (p = 0.007, p =.000 and p = 0.002). The LRRFS was higher in the NDM group in the III-IV, T3-T4 and N0-N1 subsets (p = 0.004, p = 0.002 and p =.000). In T3-T4 subset, the NDM group experienced higher DFS than the DM group (p = 0.039). In multivariate analysis, T stage and N stage were found to be independent predictors for OS, DMFS and DFS; chemotherapy was a significant prognostic factor for DMFS and DFS, age for OS, and diabetes for LRRFS and DFS. CONCLUSIONS: Type 2 diabetic mellitus is associated with poorer prognosis among patients with NPC.

Induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in stage III-IVb nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with Epstein-Barr virus DNA ≥4000 copies/ml: a matched study.

BACKGROUND: The effects of induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in high-risk (stage III-IVb with EBV DNA≥4000 copies/ml) nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients are unclear. METHODS: A total of 325 high-risk NPC patients treated with IC+CCRT or CCRT alone who were treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) between March 2007 and March 2013 were included. For each patient in the IC+CCRT group, a matched pair in the CCRT group was matching for: gender, age, T stage, N stage, clinical stage and WHO (World Health Organization) type. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and locoregional relapse-free survival (LRFS). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in OS, PFS, DMFS, and LRFS between the IC+CCRT (148 patients) and CCRT (177 patients) groups. After matching, 103 paired patients were analyzed, and there were no differences between the IC+CCRT and CCRT groups regarding clinical outcomes. Based on the subgroup analysis of 156 very-high-risk patients (stage N2-3 with EBV DNA ≥4000 copies/ml), the 5-year OS of the IC+CCRT and CCRT groups was 84.3% and 67.5% (P =0.033), respectively. Based on our multivariate analysis, the treatment group was significantly associated with OS (P=0.034; HR0.451, 95%CI 0.216-0.941). CONCLUSIONS: IC+CCRT did not improve the clinical outcomes of high-risk NPC patients compared to CCRT alone. However, in very-high-risk patients, IC+CCRT treatment led to increased OS compared to patients received CCRT treatment alone.

Prognostic effect of pregnancy on young female patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: results from a matched cohort analysis.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the prognosis of pregnancy-associated patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in a young population. METHODS: From June 1999 to December 2010, 51 patients aged ≤ 35 years who were diagnosed with NPC during pregnancy or within one year after delivery were admitted into the pregnancy-associated group in our institution. An additional 51 patients who were not pregnant at diagnosis were selected from 451 patients based on the matching criteria to match the pregnancy-associated female patients. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). The secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and distant-metastasis failure-free survival (DMFS) and locoregional failure-free survival (LRFS). RESULTS: The advanced stage was not different between the pregnant and the non-pregnant group before matching (69.8% vs. 70.3%, P = 0.690). No difference in OS at the median follow-up time of 92 months was observed between the pregnancy-associated and the non-pregnant group (85.4% vs. 92.2%, P = 0.478); likewise, no differences were observed regarding PFS and DMFS. However, the pregnancy-associated group had worse LRFS than the non-pregnant group (84.8% vs. 95.9%, P = 0.033). When the pregnancy-associated patients were dichotomized into an early pregnancy group and a late pregnancy group, our data showed that pregnancy interval did not seem to impact the risk of death or relapse. CONCLUSION: Our results show that patients in the pregnant group did not seem to have more advanced stage or inferior survival than that in the non-pregnant group.

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy for the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a retrospective controlled study.

BACKGROUND: In the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is under-evaluated. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of NAC plus IMRT and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) plus adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on locoregionally advanced NPC. METHODS: Between January 2004 and December 2008, 240 cases of locoregionally advanced NPC confirmed by pathologic assessment in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center were reviewed. Of the 240 patients, 117 received NAC followed by IMRT, and 123 were treated with CCRT plus AC. The NAC + IMRT group received a regimen that included cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The CCRT + AC group received cisplatin concurrently with radiotherapy, and subsequently received adjuvant cisplatin and 5-FU. The survival rates were assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis, and the survival curves were compared using a log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the Cox proportional hazard regression model. RESULTS: The 5-year overall survival (OS), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were 78.0, 87.9, 79.0, and 69.8%, respectively, for the NAC + IMRT group and 78.7, 84.8, 76.2, and 65.6%, respectively, for the CCRT + AC group. There were no significant differences in survival between the two groups. In multivariate analysis, age (<50 years vs. ≥50 years) and overall stage (III vs. IV) were found to be independent predictors for OS and DFS; furthermore, the overall stage was a significant prognostic factor for DMFS. Compared with the CCRT + AC protocol, the NAC + IMRT protocol significantly reduced the occurrence rates of grade 3-4 nausea-vomiting (6.5 vs. 1.5%, P = 0.023) and leukopenia (9.7 vs. 0.8%, P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: The treatment outcomes of the NAC + IMRT and CCRT + AC groups were similar. Distant metastasis remained the predominant mode of treatment failure.

Establishment and Validation of Prognostic Nomograms for Endemic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to establish an effective prognostic nomogram with or without plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA (EBV DNA) for nondisseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: The nomogram was based on a retrospective study of 4630 patients who underwent radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 2007 to 2009. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by a concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve and were compared with EBV DNA and the current staging system. The results were validated using bootstrap resampling and a prospective cohort study on 1819 patients consecutively enrolled from 2011 to 2012 at the same institution. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: Independent factors derived from multivariable analysis of the primary cohort to predict recurrence were age, sex, body mass index (BMI), T stage, N stage, plasma EBV DNA, pretreatment high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and hemoglobin level (HGB), which were all assembled into the nomogram with (nomogram B) or without EBV DNA (nomogram A). The calibration curve for the probability of recurrence showed that the nomogram-based predictions were in good agreement with actual observations. The C-index of nomogram B for predicting recurrence was 0.728 (P < .001), which was statistically higher than the C-index values for nomogram A (0.690), EBV DNA (0.680), and the current staging system (0.609). The C-index of nomogram B (0.730) and nomogram A (0.681) remained higher for predicting recurrence among patients treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (P < .001). The results were confirmed in the validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed nomogram with or without plasma EBV DNA resulted in more accurate prognostic prediction for NPC patients.

Plasma Epstein-Barr viral DNA complements TNM classification of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to verify the prognostic value of pretreatment plasma Epstein-Barr viral deoxyribonucleic acid (pEBV DNA) levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients to complement TNM classification based on the application of the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) technique. METHODS: In total, 1467 patients staged at I-IVa-b (M0) and treated with IMRT were retrospectively analyzed at our cancer center from January 2007 to December 2010. Patient survival among different stages and EBV DNA levels were compared. RESULTS: Outcome analyses of different stages and EBV DNA levels revealed that patients in stages II-III with low EBV DNA levels had similar survival as that of patients in stages IVa-b with low EBV DNA (5-yr overall survival (OS), 94.7% vs. 92.9% (P = 0.141), progression failure-free survival (PFS), 87.2% vs. 89.0% (P = 0.685), distant metastasis failure-free survival (DMFS), 93.5% vs. 92.4% (P = 0.394) and locoregional failure-free survival (LRFS), 93.8% vs. 96.3% (P = 0.523)). Conversely, patients in stages II-III with high EBV DNA had better survival than patients in stages IVa-b with high EBV DNA (5-yr OS, 82.7% vs. 71.7% (P = 0.001), PFS, 70.7% vs. 66.2% (P = 0.047), DMFS, 79.6% vs. 74.8% (P = 0.066) and LRFS, 89.3% vs. 87.6% (P = 0.425)) but poorer survival than patients in stages IVa-b with low EBV DNA (5-yr OS, 82.7% vs. 92.9% (P = 0.025), PFS, 70.7% vs. 89.0, (P < 0.001), DMFS, 79.6% vs. 92.4%, (P = 0.001), LRFS, 89.3% vs. 96.3%, (P = 0.022)). CONCLUSIONS: pEBV DNA is a strong prognostic factor for patients with NPC when complemented with TNM staging in the era of IMRT application.