title: [Concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a meta-analysis].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the value of concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma from the mainland of China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were extracted from randomized trials comparing chemotherapy plus radiotherapy with radiotherapy alone in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Actuarial rates of survival and distant metastases were calculated. The followed electronic databases were searched the Chinese Biomedicine database, Pubmed, Medline, Embase and Cochrane library; Data were extracted by tow reviewers and Review manager 4.1 software was applied for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighteen trials with 1993 patients were include according to the including criterion. The 3-year overall survival rate of the chemoradiotherapy group and the radiotherapy group were 68.47% and 56.38% respectively, and the 5-year overall survival rate of the two groups above were 51.91% and 41.09% respectively, while the distant metastases rate of the chemoradiotherapy group and the radiotherapy group were 26.19% and 38.71% respectively. The result demonstrated that chemoradiotherapy increased overall survival by 12% at 3 years, and 11% at 5 years after treatment. After chemoradiotherapy, the rate of distant metastasis was reduce by 12%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, chemoradiotherapy significantly improves overall survival at 3 years, and 5 years compared with radiotherapy alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck, Cancer Center, SUN Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China.
authors.forename: An-Kui
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tian-Run
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Guo-Long
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Fu-Jin
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhu-Ming
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Quan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zong-Yuan
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Wei-Chao
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qiu-Li
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D002681:China; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011878:Radiotherapy; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015996:Survival Rate