Chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy in patients with locoregionally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma

✍ Scribed by Zee-Wan Wong; Eng-Huat Tan; Swee-Peng Yap; Terence Tan; Swan-Swan Leong; Kam-Weng Fong; Joseph Wee

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 80 KB
• Volume: 24
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1043-3074
• DOI: 10.1002/hed.10098

✦ Synopsis

Background:

Treatment of locoregionally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (npc) is challenging because of prior radiotherapy, morbidities from disease recurrence, and limited therapeutic options available.

Methods:

A retrospective study of patients with locoregionally recurrent npc.

Result:

Between march 1994 and december 1999, there were 42 patients; most were chinese (98%) men (81%) with undifferentiated npc (86%). a repeat course of radiotherapy was feasible in 20 patients and given concurrently with cisplatin followed by adjuvant cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (pf) (group 1). the remaining 22 (group 2) received palliative chemotherapy (pf) with a response rate of 50%. significant morbidities resulted from cranial nerve palsies. the 2-year progression-free survival of patients in group 1 was expectedly better (58% vs 38%). six (14%) developed systemic metastases at 12 months (median) from first recurrence.

Conclusion:

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locoregional recurrent npc seems promising. the morbidity experienced resulted from locoregional disease with few progressing to develop systemic involvement.