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Purpose@#This retrospective study aimed to re-evaluate the effect of concurrent chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). @*Materials and Methods@#A total of 498 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or IMRT were retrospectively reviewed. The distribution of baseline characteristics was balanced using propensity score matching. Additionally, the results of NCT+IMRT and NCT+CCRT were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and differences in survival rates were analyzed using the log rank test. @*Results@#There were no significant differences in overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and local progression-free survival (LRFS) between the two groups. Patients were further categorized into risk subgroups based on pretreatment Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA cutoff values using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in OS, PFS, DMFS, and LRFS between patients who received NCT+CCRT and NCT+IMRT in the high-risk group. In the low-risk group, although there were no differences between NCT+CCRT and NCT+IMRT in OS, PFS, and LRFS, patients who received NCT+CCRT had better DMFS than those who received NCT+IMRT. @*Conclusion@#Pretreatment EBV DNA level can be used to individualize concurrent chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced NPC. Patients with low pretreatment EBV DNA levels may benefit from concurrent chemotherapy, whereas those with high levels may not. Other treatment modalities need to be explored for high-risk patients to improve their prognosis.
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Objective@#To investigate the clinical value of plasma EBV DNA in monitoring clinical efficacy in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).@*Methods@#Clinical data of 799 patients initially diagnosed with NPC treated with radical intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in our hospital from 2016 to 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. Prior to treatment, the correlation between plasma EBV DNA, clinical stage and tumor progression was analyzed. The relationship between EBV DNA and tumor progression was analyzed after radiotherapy and during follow-up.@*Results@#Before IMRT, the level of EBV DNA was positively correlated with both clinical stage and tumor progression (both P<0.001). At 6 to 8 weeks after IMRT, 19(2.3%) patients positive for plasma EBV DNA obtained the worst prognosis and 14 cases had tumor progression. At 6-8 weeks after IMRT, 9 patients were negative for EBV DNA and 3 cases had tumor progression. The tumor progression rate of patients with undetectable plasma EBV DNA at the end of IMRT was only 8.3%(64/772), and the progression-free survival rate significantly differed among three groups (all P<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rates of persistent positive plasma EBV DNA during follow-up were calculated as 77.6%, 100% and 98.1%, respectively.@*Conclusions@#The level of plasma EBV DNA in patients with NPC is correlated with tumor bearing and tumor progression prior to IMRT. At 6-8 weeks after IMRT, patients who are persistently positive for EBV DNA obtain the worst prognosis and should be given with appropriate adjuvant therapy. The correlation between persistent positive plasma EBV DNA during follow up and tumor progression yields a high accuracy rate, indicating that plasma EBV DNA is a reliable biomarker for monitoring the clinical efficacy after radical treatment for NPC patients.
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Objective To evaluate and compare the analytical performances and application values of three nucleic acid extraction methods for quantification of plasma Epstein-Barr Virus ( EBV ) DNA. Methods It used silica membrane spin column , boiling and automated magnetic bead method to extract viral nucleic acid in parallel , and combined real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR assays for quantitative EBV-DNA quantification.The performances of three methods were determined and compared by using the third-party reference materials , and the clinical values were analyzed by pairing detecting 100 NPC patients and 100 healthy subjects in pair .Results The accuracy and imprecision of three methods were all in line with requirements , and the results of clinical samples were linearly correlated . But actually the reproducibility and intermediate imprecision of the magnetic bead method were smaller and stable than those of the spin column method and the boiling method ( all <3％);the limit of detection for the magnetic bead method was 3.334 ×101 IU/ml, better than that of spin column method (4.159 ×101 IU/ml) and boiling method (8.511 ×101 IU/ml);the linear range of the magnetic bead method was 5.4 ×101 -5.4 ×105 IU/ml, slightly wider than that of the boiling method (5.4 ×102 -5.4 ×105 IU/ml); the ability of anti -Hb interference ability of magnetic bead method is better than that of boiling method ;and the positive rate and the mean viral load of the NPC samples measured with the magnetic bead method were significantly higher (95％, 8.342 ×103 IU/ml) than those measured with the spin column method (84％, 4.707 ×103 IU/ml) and the boiling method (78％, 2.571 ×103 IU/ml) ( P all<0.05).Conclusion The automated magnetic bead nucleic acid extraction method offered better analytical performance and higher clinical value for EBV DNA quantification in plasma .
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Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors in the southern part of China. The main etiologi-cal factors of nasopharyngeal carcinoma include genetic susceptibility, dietary factors, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. EBV de-oxyribonucleic acid (EBV DNA) can be persistently detected in the plasma of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and its levels correlate with the disease stage. After successful treatment, EBV DNA is rapidly cleared from the plasma of patients;however, signifi-cant increases in plasma EBV DNA levels are observed in patients with recurrent or metastatic diseases after treatment. Accumulating evidence suggests that EBV DNA detection is useful in the early diagnosis and screening, diagnosis of tumor recurrence or distant me-tastasis, prognosis, and tailored treatment of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This review summarizes the aforementioned progresses to provide a basis for future clinical and research efforts.
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Objective To test and evaluate the geometric accuracy of delineation of organs at risk ( OARs) in head and neck cancer using an atlas?based autosegmentation ( ABAS) software. Methods The atlases for the ABAS software was generated using images from 40 patients with head and neck cancer undergoing intensity?modulated radiotherapy. The software was tested in 40 new patients. Automatic delineation of OARs was carried out on computed tomography images by single?( one to one ) and multi?template ( ten to one) approaches. In order to evaluate the feasibility of the automatic delineation in clinical application, differences in volume (ΔV%), position (Δx,Δy, andΔz), conformability (sensitivity ( Se ), specificity ( Sp ) , and dice similarity coefficient ( DSC) ) , and delineation time were assessed between the automatic and manual delineation. The comparison between the two automatic delineation approaches was made by paried t test. Results For all OARs, the multi?template automatic delineation achieved a significantly smaller mean ΔV% value and a significantly larger mean DSC value than the single?template automatic delineation (-0.02%± 0?29% vs. -0.16%± 0?41%, P<0?05;0.74± 0?16 vs. 0.68± 0?20, P<0?05);the position differences between two automatic delineation approaches were less than 0?4 cm in all three directions except for the temporal lobe, lower jaw, and spinal cord;in the receiver operating characteristic curve defined by Se versus 1-Sp , the data points were all within the first quadrant except for the optic nerve and chiasm;automatic delineation saved 42%?72% of time compared with manual delineation. Conclusions The ABAS software achieves satisfactory results of automatic delineation for most of OARs in patients with head and neck cancer. The multi?template automatic delineation, particularly, has better outcomes than the single?template one. In addition, it greatly shortens the time the clinicians spend on delineation of OARs.
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PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients who developed bone-only metastasis after primary treatment and the stratification of these patients into different risk groups based on independent prognostic factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty NPC patients who developed bone-only metastasis after definitive radiotherapy from October 2005 to December 2010 were enrolled. All these patients received palliative treatment for bone metastasis, including chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Clinical features, treatment modality, and laboratory parameters were examined with univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 15.5 months (range, 2-67 months) for the whole cohort. The median overall metastatic survival (OMS) time and the 2-year estimate OMS rate were 26.5 months and 52%, respectively. Multivariate analysis indicated that patients with short metastases-free interval, multiple bone metastases sites, high serum lactic dehydrogenase levels, and treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy alone had significantly worse outcomes. Patients were stratified into three different risk groups based on the number of adverse factors present. The OMS curves of the three groups were all significantly different (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Severl prognostic factors were found to be associated with worse outcomes. According to the number of adverse factors present, bone-only metastasis patients can be stratified into three risk groups with significantly different prognoses. Such grouping may help in improving the design of clinical trials and in guiding individualized treatment for NPC patients with bone-only metastasis.
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Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Bone Neoplasms/mortality , Combined Modality Therapy , Multivariate Analysis , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/mortality , Neoplasm Staging , Prognosis , Retrospective Studies , Survival RateABSTRACT
Background and purpose:Currently, subjective questionaire is the most frequently used methods to evaluate swallowing dysfunctions after radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, while lacking of effective objective examinations. This study aimed to explore effective methods to evaluate swallowing dysfunctions after radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, and gain knowledge of the incidence and severity of swallowing dysfunctions. Methods: From Oct. 2013 to Dec. 2013, 128 consecutive outpatients with previously treated nasopharyngeal carcinoma received esophageal barium lfuoroscopy examination at there regularly follow-ups to evaluate swallowing function. Among these patients, 89 were primary treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and 39 with conventional radiotherapy (CRT). In this study, each patient received esophageal barium lfuoroscopy examination for 3 times with thin, thick and pasty barium and were dynamically observed using X-ray fluoroscopy from front and lateral direction. Swallowing dysfunctions were defined as follows:①The bolus could not be swallowed and blocked in the mouth;②The dilute barium diverted to the glottis or trachea;③Residual barium delayed in the pyriform sinus and vallecula;④The movement of the hyoid bone or epiglottis were restricted;⑤Bolus prolong through the pharynx;⑥Barium slowed down when went though the esophageal entrance. Results:Of the 128 patients, incidence of dysphagia was 60.2%for the entire cohort, 52.8%for IMRT group and 76.9%for CRT group. Incidence of dysphagia for IMRT group was signiifcantly lower than CRT group (P=0.018). Dysphagia incidence within 1 year, 1 to 2 years and more than 2 years after RT were 63.1%, 33.3%and 69.0%, respectively (P=0.019). Conclusion:There was a high incidence of swallowing dysfunction for the nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients treated with radiotherapy and dysphagia incidence decreased when treated with IMRT. Esophageal barium lfuoroscopy examination is objective method to evaluate the incidence and severity of the swallowing dysfunction.
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Objective To compare the dosimetric differences of fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT),volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and helical tomotherapy (HT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.Methods Eighteen NPC patients previously treated with VMAT were retrospectively included and re-planned using HT and IMRT (7 fields) techniques utilizing the same dose prescription and optimization objectives.The following parameters were compared across the three types of plans:homogeneity index (HI),conformity index (CI),maximum dose (Dmax) and mean dose (Dmean) of targets ; the Dmax and Dmean of organs at risk (OARs) ; the doses and volumes of volume of interest; the treatment delivery time and monitor units (MU).Results Clinically acceptable target coverage could be achieved by IMRT,VMAT and HT plans.The HT plans were the best yet IMRT plans were the worst in HI and CI of targets.IMRT imposed highest doses to OARs while HT deposited least doses to the spinal cord,brainstem and parotid.However,the VMAT plans displayed the lowest doses on optic nerves,chiasma and lens while highest doses were found in IMRT plans.The average delivery time per fraction of IMRT (8.0±0.5) min were more than that of HT (7.4 ±0.9) min and VMAT (3.9 ±0.1) min plans.The MUs of IMRT plans (711.4 ±78.7) were larger than that of VMAT plans (596.4 ±33.7).Conclusions Three types of plans can all achieve the clinical dosimetric demands,but HT has the best performance on CI and HI.VMAT is most efficient regarding the delivery time and total MUs.
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Objective To investigate the clinical typing of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in patients treated by intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 333 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who were initially treated in our hospital from 2003 to 2006 ;they had no distant metastasis and received IMRT.These patients were divided into 4 clinical types according to their prognosis:type Ⅰ (without local-regional recurrence and without distant metastasis),type Ⅱ (with local-regional recurrence and without distant metastasis),type Ⅲ (without local-regional recurrence and with distant metastasis),and type Ⅳ (with local-regional recurrence and with distant metastasis).Results Of all the patients,70.0％ (233) were of type Ⅰ,12.9％ (43) of type Ⅱ,16.5％ (55) of type Ⅲ,and 0.6％ (2) of type Ⅳ.Of 57 patients with stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ nasophayngeal carcinoma,86％ (49) were of type Ⅰ,11％ (6) of type Ⅱ,4％ (2) of type Ⅲ,and 0％ (0) of type Ⅳ,and of 276 patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ nasopharyngeal carcinoma,66.7％ (184) were of type Ⅰ,13.4％ (37) of type Ⅱ,19.2％ (53) of type Ⅲ,and 0.7％ (2) of type Ⅳ,with significant differences between the two patient groups (P =0.007).Of the 69 patients who received IMRT alone,80％ (55) were of type Ⅰ,12％ (8) of type Ⅱ,9％(6) of type Ⅲ,and 0％ (0) of type Ⅳ; of the 218 patients who received IMRT combined with neoadjuvant plus concurrent chemotherapy,68.8％ (150) were of type Ⅰ,13.8％ (30) of type Ⅱ,16.5％(36) of type Ⅲ,and 0.9％ (2) of type Ⅳ; of the 46 patients who received IMRT combined with neoadjuvant plus adjuvant chemotherapy,61％ (28) were of type Ⅰ,11％ (5) of type Ⅱ,28％ (13) of type Ⅲ,and 0％ (0) of type Ⅳ.Conclusions In patients with early and advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma,type Ⅰ is the most common,and type Ⅳ is the least common;type Ⅱ is more frequent than type Ⅲ in early patients,while type Ⅲ is more frequent than type Ⅱ in advanced patients.The percentage of type Ⅰ patients increases,while that of type Ⅱ-Ⅳ patients decreases,as compared with the data of those treated by conventional radiotherapy.
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Objective To retrospectively analyze the outcomes,adverse events,and prognostic factors in elderly patients initially diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who receive radiotherapy and chemotherapy.Methods From January 2004 to April 2007,202 patients (over 60 years of age) initially diagnosed with NPC received radical radiotherapy or chemotherapy.These patients included 165 males (81.7％) and 37 females (18.3％),with a median age of 65 years (range 60-86 years).Of all patients,1 had stage Ⅰ NPC,25 had stage Ⅱ NPC,120 had stage Ⅲ NPC,and 56 had stage Ⅳa/Ⅳb NPC,according to the AJCC staging system (6th edition).All patients received a radiation dose of ≥66 Gy,and 146 patients (72.3％) with locally advanced NPC also received chemotherapy.The Cox model was used for multivariate analysis.Results The follow-up rate was 100％.The 5-year local control rate,regional lymph node control rate,distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rate,disease-free survival rate,and overall survival (OS) rate were 93％,94％,82％,74％,and 67％,respectively.The multivariate analysis revealed that T stage,N stage,and age were prognostic factors for OS and DMFS (P =0.006,0.002,and 0.008 ;P =0.020,0.002,and 0.022).The severe acute toxicities included grade 4 radiation dermatitis (1 patient,0.5％),grade 4 radiation mucositis (2 patients,1.0％),and grade 4 bone marrow suppression (5 patients,2.5％).Conclusions The elderly NPC patients can tolerate radiotherapy and chemotherapy well.Multimodality therapy should be adopted for the patients aged 60-74 years who have advanced-stage NPC and good general conditions.
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Adjuvant treatment after deifnitive surgery is an integral part of the management of locoregionally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC). Earlier stage HNSCC with N+disease may require adjuvant radiotherapy, while locoregionally advanced disease requires postoperative chemoradiation therapy for eradicating subclinical residual disease. Tri-modality with surgery followed by concurrent chemoradiation can improve the local control, disease free survival, and overall survival rates in patients with advanced HNSCC as compare to surgery or surgery plus radiation. However, treatment induced adverse-effects should be addressed when deciding on the treatment options. Molecular targeted therapy is a new treatment modality and its efifcacy when used in concurrent with radiation as a deifnitive treatment has been suggested. However, adjuvant use of radiation and targeted therapy requires further investigation before it can be recommended routinely in clinical practice. The association between HPV and HNSCC, as well as the clinical implication of such association require further study as well.
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Background and purpose:Nasopharyngeal carcinoma usually occurs in people of states of the Southern China. Chemoradiotherapy plays an important role in the therapy of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, chemoradiotherapy causes more toxic side effects than radiation therapy alone, which affects the therapy. Now symptomatic treatment and nutrition supports are common ways in the clinic in order to improve the tolerance of patients for the therapy, but with little effect. To evaluate the clinical significance of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: From Oct. 2010 to Jun. 2012, a total of 71 patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma who received PEG before chemoradiotherapy were enrolled. During chemoradiotherapy, gastrostomy diet and nursing were supplied, adverse events, tolerance and nutrition indicators including weight and alcohol of human albumin were detected as well. Results:PEG were performed successfully on 68 patients, but failed in the other 3 patients. Of the 68 patients, 4 have not received concurrent chemotherapy because of liver metastases and liver function damage, 51 of the remaining 64 patients could completely ifnished 3 cycles of concurrent chemotherapy, with the completion rate of concurrent chemotherapy at 79.69%. The weight change ranged from-11.86%to 0.83%, with a mean value of-5.32%±2.99%. Paired-sample t test of human albumin before and after the treatment showed no significant difference (P=0.742). Grade Ⅱ radioactive oral cavity mucositis appeared in 60.29%patients (41/68), and 22.06%patients (15/68) suffered gradeⅢradioactive oral cavity mucositis.Conclusion:For patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, preventative PEG improved the tolerance of chemoradiotherapy, reduce the incidence of adverse events. The period of therapy interruption caused by sever adverse event were shortened as well, PEG also increased the completion rate of concurrent chemotherapy. Nutritional status and living quality of patients are improved. In addition, PEG is a safe, economic and simple method.
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Objective To evaluate the dosimetric characteristics of hippocampal formation (HF) in the intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).Methods Fifty-nine NPC patients underwent IMRT.Simultaneous integrated boost technology was used to determine the doses for the target areas.The dose ranges of the HF were collected by dose-volume histogram.The influence of T stage on the exposure doses ( Dmax,Dmean,D20,V10,V20,V30,and V40 ) were compared.Results The maximum dose for the HF (Dmax) ranged from 11.1 to 78.2 Gy(F =24.2,P ＜0.05) and the Dmean ranged from 3.2 to 44.6 Gy ( F =16.3,P ＜ 0.05 ).The Dmax and Dmean of the T1-2 stage patients were (40.8 ±9.4) Gy and ( 12.5 ±5.1 ) Gy,respectively,both significantly lower than those of the T3-4 stage patients [ (58.6± 14.8) Gy,(20.9± 9.3 ) Gy].The mean exposed volume of the T4 stage patients was significantly larger than that of the T1 and T2 stages patients.Conclusions In the IMRT of NPC,the HF receives rather high irradiation dose.T stage is the main factor influencing the dose,especially T3 and T4 stages deserve serious attention.
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ObjectiveTo analyze the correlation between primary tumor volume (PTV) and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma ( NPC ) treated by intensity-modulated radiotherapy ( IMRT ).Methods330 NPC patients treated by IMRT were included.Pretreatment computerized tomography image were input into tree-dimensional treatment-planning system,in which the primary tumor volume were calculated automatically.The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine the best cut-off point of PTV.Within the framework of UICC 2002 T stage,The PTV was divided into four groups:V1 ＜ 10cm3,V2 10-25 cm3,V3 ＞ 25-50 cm3 and V4 ＞ 50 cm3.Kaplan-Meier and Logrank test was used to analyze the survival,Cox proportion risk regression model were used to analysis the correlation between PTV and prognosis.ResultsThe mean PTV for all NPC patients was ( 34.2 ± 27.1 ) cm3 with the range of 0.4- 153.7 cm3.The 3-year overall survival for V1,V2,V3 and V4 stage were 88.6％,90.0％,91.2％ and 74.2％,respectively (x2 =12.83,P =0.005 ).There was no significant difference among V1,V2 and V3in terms of overall survival ( x2 =1.96,P =0.376).The 3-year distant metastasis-free survival and diseasesfree survival or overall survival were decrease in PTV ＞50 cm3 and PTV≤50 cm3 (77.4％:89.9％,x2 =7.24,P=0.007and 64.5％:85.1％,x2 =13.95,P=0.000 or 74.2％:90.3％,x2 =11.76,P=0.001).Multivariate analysis revealed that PTV was a adverse prognostic factors for overall survival (x2 =0.00,P =2.580).ConclusionOur data showed that the primary tumor volume had significantly impacted on the prognosis of NPC patients treated by intensity modulated radiotherapy.
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Objective To compare the prognostic value of the 7th edition of AJCC cancer staging system in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with conventional radiotherapy (CRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).Methods From January 2004 to December 2006,totally 1138 NPC patients were treated with CRT (790 patients) and IMRT (348 patients) in Cancer Hospital of Fujian province.The median ages were 47 and 45 years old for two groups ( x2 =1.49,P =0.222 ),respectively.There were 0,41,488,261 and 5,65,176,102 patients in stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ of the two groups after restaged with 7th edition of AJCC cancer staging system,respectively (x2 =64.78,P =0.001 ).The 3-year survival was analyzed according to T-category,N-category and overall stage.Results The follow-up rate at 3 years is 96.0％.The median follow-up were 32 months and 33 months for CRT and IMRT groups.N-category was found to be the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS,x2 =6.50,P =0.038 and x2 =13.60,P =0.004) and metastasis free survival ( MFS,x2 =7.78,P =0.009 and x2 =15.30,P =0.002) for CRT and IMRT groups.The clinical stage was prognostic factor for OS in conventional group ( x2 =6.70,P=0.035),and for MFS in IMRT group (x2 =9.12,P=0.028).Conclusions The T-calegory of 7th AJCC staging system shows poor predictive value for the long-term survival of NPC patients.The N-calegory of 7th AJCC staging system can well estimate the OS and MFS for NPC.
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Objective To evaluate the impact of reducing clinical target volume (CTV) on the efficacy of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) . Methods Between August 2003 and March 2007, 380 NPC patients were treated with IMRT with reduced CTV.CTV1, defined as high risk region, included GTV +5 - 10 mm margin and the entire nasopharyngeal mucosa +5 mm submucosal volume; CTV2, designed for potentially involved regions, included the nasopharyngeal cavity (limited to the posterior part of nasal cavity only), maxillary sinus (limited to 5 mm anterior to the posterior nasal aperture and maxillary mucosa), pterygopalatine fossa, posterior ethmoid sinus,parapharyngeal space, skull base, anterior third of clivus and cervical vertebra, inferior spheniod sinus and cavernous sinus and internal group of retropharyngeal lymph nodal regions from the base of skull to cranial edge of the second cervical vertebra. The prescription dose was: GTV 66. 00 -69. 75 Gy/30 - 33 f, CTV1 60. 00 -66. 65 Gy,CTV2/CTVN 54. 0 -55.8 Gy. 308 patients with stage Ⅲ or Ⅳ diseases also received cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Results The follow-up rate was 100%. 145 patients were followed-up to 3 years. The 3-year estimated local control, regional control, metastasis-free survival,disease-free survival and overall survival rates were 94. 9%, 97.4%, 86. 2%, 80. 9% and 89. 0%,respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that N-classification was a significant prognostic factor for metastasis-free survival (x2 = 20. 80, P = 0. 001), N-classification (x2 = 18. 30, P = 0. 003) and age (x2 =7. 31, P =0. 004) were independent prognostic factors for overall survival. Grade 2 xerostomia was observed in 5.6% of the patients after two years of IMRT, no Grade 3 or 4 xerostomia was observed. Local, regional,and distant failures were developed in 4. 2%, 2. 6% and 12. 1% of the patients, respectively. Conclusions The IMRT approach with reduced CTV2 provids a favorable outcome for NPC with acceptable toxicities.
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Background and purpose: Cervical nodal metastasis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma plays an important role in the definition of radiotherapy area and clinical staging, it is also one of the main factors influencing prognosis. So this study was designed to explore the pattern of metastatic lymph nodes for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which may provide a basis for clinical treatment and research. Methods: From Jun. 2005 to Sep. 2007,779 histologically diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients had routine MRI scan before radiation therapy at Fujian Provincial Cancer Hospital. Diagnostic radiologists and radiation oncoiogists together assessed the nodal distribution according to the guideline CT-hased delineation of lymph node levels. Then, Chi-sqnare test was used to analyze the correlation between T stage and nodal metastasis rate and between nodal diameter and nodal extracapsular invasion. Results: Of 779 patients, 592(76.0%) had nodal involvement. The distribution was as follows: 1 in level Ⅰ,384 in level Ⅱa, 499 in level Ⅱ_b, 184 in level Ⅲ, 33 in level Ⅳ, 67 in level V_a, 21 in level V_b, 597 in retropharynx.In these patients, a total of 1 479 postive nodes, including 973 (65.79%) extracapsular spread nodes, were detected.The rate of nodal extracapsular invasion was higher when the axial diameter increased. Leap metastasis rate was 1.0%. No significant correlation was found between T stage and nodal involvement. Conclusion: The level Ⅱ and retropharyngeal node were the most frequently involved regions, they had similar metastatic rate and were both the first echo node to metastases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Level Ⅰ metastasis was lower. The proportion of extracapsular spread of metastatic lymph nodes increased with axial diameter of lymph nodes-dependent. The cervical node involvement of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was spread orderly down the neck, and the incidence of skip metastasis is rare. The relationship between T stage and nodal involvement has no statistical significance.
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Objective To carry out a comparative study between the Chinese 2008 and'92 staging system of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods A total of 777 patients presented with untreated nondisseminated NPC who had received MRI scan of nasopharynx and neck were studied retrospectively. The clinical materials and information of imaging were collected. All patients were restaged according to the Chinese 2008 and 92 staging system of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Distribution of T, N stage, survival and prognostic value were compared. 513 patients of the 777 cases were treated with conventional radiotherapy,264 cases with intensity modulated radiation therapy. Results The 3-year follow-up rate was 97.6%. The consistency of T stages was 95.0%. T, N and clinical stage distributions in two systems were similar ( Kappa = 0. 93, P = 0. 000; Kappa = 0. 58, P = 0. 000; Kappa = 0. 74, P = 0. 000). Local failure-free survival and disease specific survival were also similar. There was no difference of distant metastasis between N0 and N1(x2 = 1.94,P=0. 164), and a marginal difference between N1 and N2(x2 =3.83,P=0.051) in the Chinese'92 staging system. However, although there was also no difference of distant metastasis-free survival between No and N1a(x2 =0. 07,P =0. 797), ) the difference of overall survival among N1b, N2, and N3 were significant ( x2 = 4. 95, P = 0. 026; x2 = 6. 74, P = 0. 009) in the Chinese 2008 staging system. Conventional radiotherapy or intensity modulated radiation therapy was not a prognostic factor for survival ( x2 = 3.60,P =0. 058). It is reasonable for the Chinese 2008 staging system integrated lymph node characteristics such as laterality, level and extranodal neoplastic spread into the N staging criteria ( x2 = 6. 59, P = 0. 010; x2 =4.78,P=0. 029;x2=9.32,P=0. 002). Conclusions For the Chinese 2008 staging system, it was reasonable to simplify the previous T stage. The N stage showed a better predictive role of distant failure.The role of retropharyngeal lymph node in stage system needs further investigation.
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Objective To retrospectively analyze the therapeutic results of patients with initially di-agnosed metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods From January 1995 to December 1998, 46 NPC patients with distant metastases were treated in Fujian provincial cancer hospital. Among these pa-tients, 43 were single site metastasis and 3 were multiple sites metastases;The site of metastasis were 19 pa-tients in the liver, 11 in the bone, 7 in the lung, 1 in the brain, 6 in mediastinal nodes and 6 in axillary lymph nodes. All patients received standard radiotherapy to the primary site and cervical node region with a median dose of 72 Gy. Forty-one patients (89%) received 1-5 cycles chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5-flu-orouracil), and 23 (50%) received palliative irradiation to the metastatic site. Results The median surviv-al time was 20 months. The 1-, 2-, 3-year and 5-year overall survival rates were 66%, 47%, 30% and 19%, respectively. Irradiation to the metastatic sites and KPS were the significant prognostic factors. Pa-tients with palliative irradiation to the metastatic site had longer survival than those without (39 months vs. 13 months, X2=8.63, P=0.012). Patients with good performance status (KPS≥80) had better outcomes thanthose with poor performance status (26 months vs. 12 months, X2= 3.95, P=0.035) . Conclusions Active therapy may prolong the survival of patients with initially diagnosed metastatic NPC, especially for those who have good performance status. Under systematic chemotherapy, radiotherapy to the primary site and supportive care, the palliative irradiation to the metastatic site may also yield a good result.
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Objective To analyze the long-term efficacy,prognostic factors and radiation sequela of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)treated with radiotherapy at the end of last century.Methods From January 1995 to December 1998,1706 newly diagnosed NPC patients treated with radiotherapy were included in the retrospective clinical analysis.There were 1081 patients treated with radiotherapy alone,625 with two to three circles of chemotherapy(5-Fu and DDP)before radiotherapy,23 with thermotherapy during radiotherapy and 162 with braehytherapy by 192Ir after external beam radiation.Results The 5-year overall survival. local control survival and disease-free survival rates were 67.60%.84.20%and 64.22%.respectively.The 5-year survival of patients with stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲand Ⅳ(the Fuzhou Staging,1992)were 100%,75.93%,66.47%and 49.34%.respectively.Cox regression analysis showed that the TNM classification,radiotherapy discontinuance,chemotherapy,sex,age and anemia before radiotherapy were the significant factors of survival.Conclusions Our experience shows that the main factors for the long term survival of NPC patients after radiotherapy are early TNM stage,young age,female,non-anemia before radiotherapy, radiotherapy continuance and chemotherapy.