Clinical study of simultaneous whole-course hyperfractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy and nimotuzumab in treatment of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma / 肿瘤研究与临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the clinical effect of simultaneous whole-course hyperfractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy and nimotuzumab in the treatment of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Methods:A total of 64 patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma who were admitted to Kaiping Central Hospital of Guangdong Province from June 2017 to January 2019 were selected and divided into the observation group and control group according to the random number table method, with 32 cases in each group. Both groups were given chemotherapy and nimotuzumab on the basis of radiotherapy. The observation group received simultaneous whole-course hyperfractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and the control group received conventional fractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy. The short-term efficacy, Karnofsky score, overall survival rate, progression-free survival rate, acute radiation reaction, and late radiation injury in the two groups were observed.Results:Six months after radiotherapy, the efficient rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group [96.9% (31/32) vs. 75.0% (24/32), χ2 = 6.335, P < 0.05]. At the end of radiotherapy and 3 months after the end of radiotherapy, the Karnofsky scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant [(75±3) points vs. (71±3) points, t = 5.891, P < 0.05; (80±4) points vs.(77±4) points, t = 3.201, P = 0.002]. All patients were well tolerated, no grade 4 acute radiation reaction was observed, and radiotherapy was completed as planned. The incidence rate of oral mucosal reaction in the observation group was lower than that in the control group [21.9% (7/32) vs. 50.0% (16/32), χ2 = 5.497, P < 0.05]. The incidence rates of severe dry mouth and neck soft tissue fibrosis in the observation group were lower than those in the control group [6.2% (2/32) vs. 28.1% (9/32), χ2 = 5.379, P = 0.043; 3.1% (1/32) vs. 21.9% (7/32), χ2 = 5.143, P < 0.05]. The follow-up time was 14-20 months, and the median follow-up time was 17 months. There was no statistical difference in overall survival time between the two groups ( χ2 = 0.553, P = 0.557). The progression-free survival time of the observation group was better than that of the control group ( χ2 = 3.954, P = 0.044). Conclusion:The simultaneous whole-course hyperfractionated intensity-modulated radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy and nimotuzumab are effective in the treatment of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the adverse reactions can be tolerated.