[Concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a meta-analysis].
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.
Yang
An-Kui
AK
Department of Head and Neck, Cancer Center, SUN Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China.
Liu
Tian-Run
TR
Guo
Xiang
X
Qi
Guo-Long
GL
Chen
Fu-Jin
FJ
Guo
Zhu-Ming
ZM
Zhang
Quan
Q
Zeng
Zong-Yuan
ZY
Chen
Wei-Chao
WC
Li
Qiu-Li
QL
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