Combined therapy for carcinoma of the nasopharynx: a report of 49 cases.
From April, 1986 to June 1989, 49 patients (29 male, 20 female) aged 20 to 70 years old who developed carcinoma of nasopharynx (included 15 with relapses) were treated with neoadjuvant regional chemotherapy, followed by radiotherapy, or cryosurgery and radiotherapy. Thirty-three of the patients had squamous cell carcinoma with poor differentiation, four with well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma were included. Tumours were treated with three modalities: (1) Induction regional chemotherapy with temporal artery catheterization as well as superselective intra-arterial chemotherapy of the femoral artery (chemotherapeutic agents: pingyangmycinum (P), Cisplatin (D), Vincristine (V), Methotrexate (M) and P.D.M. programmes); (2) Liquid nitrogen cryosurgery in 25 cases; (3) Radiotherapy was carried out for two weeks after cryosurgery or immediately applied to those without cryosurgery after chemotherapy. The data showed CR (complete response--all tumour gone) and PR (partial response--more than 50 per cent reduction) in 40 cases (81.6 per cent) and NR (no response--less than 50 per cent or no response) in nine cases (18.3 per cent) following regional chemotherapy. All of the patients were followed up for more than one year, and 48 of them survived (97.9 per cent). Thirty-five cases were followed up over two years and 28 of them survived (80 per cent). Twenty cases were followed up over three years, and 12 of them survived (60 per cent). The effect of regional chemotherapy and cryosurgery in combined treatment for carcinoma of the nasopharynx is discussed in this paper.
Department of Otolaryngology, Shenzhen City, Guang Dong Province, China.
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Sheng
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Jia
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003452:Cryosurgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*