Induction Chemotherapy Followed by IMRT With or Without Concurrent Chemotherapy in Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Several prospective randomized trials have demonstrated that concurrent chemoradiotherapy was superior to radiotherapy alone in the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Based on these evidences, concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with/without sequential chemotherapy has become the standard care for locoregionally advanced NPC. However, most of these evidences of standard treatment for locoregionally advanced NPC were based on the two-dimensional conventional radiotherapy (2DCRT). As the intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) technique has been widely used in the last decades, IMRT improved the treatment outcomes of patients with NPC, especially the local control rate. Currently, more retrospective studies compared the IMRT alone vs. IMRT plus concurrent chemotherapy, and reported that concurrent chemotherapy failed to improve survival rates for patients with locoregionally advanced disease, but increased the severity of acute toxicities. People started to reconsider the role of CCRT. Therefore, we propose this randomized phase III non-inferiority study to reassess the efficacy and contribution of concurrent chemotherapy in locoregionally advanced NPC during IMRT era.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Maximum age

70 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients with newly histologically confirmed non-keratinizing (according to WHO histologically type); Tumor staged as III-IVb (according to the 7th AJCC edition); No pregnant female; Age between 18-70; Normal complete blood count level (hemoglobin \>10 g/dL, white blood cells ≥4000/μL, platelets ≥100 000/μL); Normal hepatic functions (serum total bilirubin ≤1.6 mg/dL, serum transminase \< 2.5 times higher than upper limit); Normal renal function (serum creatinine ≤1.5 mg/dL, creatinine clearance ≥60 mL/min); Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1; Without radiotherapy or chemotherapy; Patients must give signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

Disease progression in the process of the treatment; The presence of uncontrolled life-threatening illness; History of previous radiotherapy or chemotherapy; Pregnancy or lactation.

• DERIVEDDai J, Zhang B, Su Y, Pan Y, Ye Z, Cai R, Qin G, Kong X, Mo Y, Zhang R, Liu Z, Xie Y, Ruan X, Jiang W. Induction Chemotherapy Followed by Radiotherapy vs Chemoradiotherapy in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2024 Apr 1;10(4):456-463. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.6552. PMID 38329737