title: [Update on medical therapies of nasopharyngeal carcinomas].
abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) are predominantly of undifferentiated type (UCNT or undifferentiated carcinoma of nasopharyngeal type), rare (<1/100,000) and sporadic in occidental countries, but endemic in the Mediterranean area of intermediate incidence (2 to 10/100,000) and highly frequent (>10/100,000) in South East Asia. NPC staging is based on TNM UICC 2002 that has a prognostic and therapeutic orientation impact. Irradiation of the primitive tumor and its extensions remains the standard loco-regional treatment. The recent introduction of primary and concomitant chemotherapy leads to an improvement in terms of overall and disease-free survival, specially for for high-risk-patients (T3-4 and N2-3 disease). Prognosis remain linked to T, N, histologic type and quality of response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Institut Salah Azaïz, Service de carcinologie médicale, boulevard du 9-Avril, Bab Saadoun, Tunis, Tunisie. hamouda.boussen@rns.tn
authors.forename: Hamouda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boussen
authors.forename: Noureddine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouaouina
authors.forename: Olfa
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Daldoul
authors.forename: Farouk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benna
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gritli
authors.forename: Abderrahman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ladgham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D019583:Dose Fractionation, Radiation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D047368:Tumor Burden