A comparison of EBV serology and serum cell-free DNA as screening tools for nasopharyngeal cancer: Results of the Singapore NPC screening cohort.

We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) screening by comprehensive clinical follow-up and adjunctive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) testing. In a prospective cohort study, 524 individuals with a first-degree family history of NPC were recruited at a university clinical center in Singapore. The cohort was evaluated at baseline and at 6 monthly intervals, with a complete head and neck examination including nasopharyngeal endoscopy. Blood was taken at baseline and at yearly intervals for EBV Viral Capsid Antigen (VCA) IgA, EBV Early Antigen (EA) IgA serology and serum cell-free EBV DNA. Nasopharyngeal biopsy was performed when any irregularity in the nasopharynx was observed, or when EBV markers were elevated. The mean duration of follow-up was 57.7 months, with an average of 8.6 clinical visits per participant. Five participants (0.96%) were identified to have NPC, giving a prevalence of 199 per 100,000 person-years of screening. Four of the five NPC cases identified had asymptomatic T1 disease, at an earlier stage compared to NPC patients diagnosed in the clinic during the same time period (p = 0.0297). All NPC cases identified had elevated EBV-EA IgA titers ≥1:10, with a specificity of 94.6% and a positive predictive value of 15.2%, outperforming EBV-VCA IgA and serum EBV DNA. Two NPC cases were biopsied only because of elevated EBV serology titers, with increasing EBV-EA IgA titers preceding the diagnosis of NPC. In conclusion, screening for NPC is effective in identifying early-stage disease. Adjunctive EBV-EA IgA testing improved the effectiveness of screening.

Defining a cohort of oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with improved clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical outcomes of oligometastatic versus widely metastatic NPC patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of 157 patients with metastatic NPC at a tertiary hospital was performed. Multivariate analysis was carried out to compare the overall and progression-free survival (OS and PFS) of these two cohorts of NPC patients. The number of organ involvement and discrete metastatic lesions associated with improved OS and PFS were ascertained. RESULTS: Patients with oligometastatic NPC (single organ, less than six discrete metastatic lesions) had a better median OS than patients with widespread metastasis (24.8 versus 12.8 months, P < .001). Similarly, the median PFS of oligometastatic NPC was better than that of polymetastatic NPC (11.7 versus 7.3 months, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Single organ disease with less than six discrete lesions is a good indicator of limited metastatic load in NPC, and is associated with improved survival.

Is level V neck dissection necessary in primary parotid cancer?

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: This study aims to evaluate the pattern of nodal metastasis to level V in parotid cancer and to examine the clinical value of level V neck dissection (LVND). STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 86 patients (47 N0 nodal metastasis [N0] neck and 39 positive nodal metastasis [N(+) ] neck) who received parotidectomy and neck dissection was performed. The prevalence of pathological nodal metastasis in level V neck was evaluated and correlated with locoregional recurrence. RESULTS: LVND was performed in 10.6% and 28.2% of patients with clinical NO (cN0) and cN(+) neck disease, respectively. The prevalence of pathological positive nodal metastasis was 0% (cN0) and 81.8% (cN(+) ). In patients with cN0 neck, the rate of recurrence in level V was 6%. CONCLUSION: In our patient cohort with predominantly high-grade parotid cancer, LVND was necessary in patients with cN(+) neck because there was a high likelihood for pathologically positive nodal metastasis. In patients with cN0 neck, the rate of recurrence in level V was low enough not to warrant a routine inclusion of LVND.