title: The long-term outcomes of alternating chemoradiotherapy for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a multiinstitutional phase II study.
abstract: To examine the long-term outcomes of alternating chemoradiotherapy (ALCRT) for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and to assess the efficacy of ALCRT for NPC. Patients with stage IIB to IVB, ECOG PS 0-2, 18-70 years-old, and sufficient organ function were eligible for this study. First, chemotherapy, consisting of 5-fluorouracil (800 mg/m(2) per 24 h on days 1-5) and cisplatin (100 mg/m(2) per 24 h on day 6), was administered, then a wide field of radiotherapy (36 Gy/20 fraction), chemotherapy, a shrinking field of radiotherapy (34 Gy/17 fraction), and chemotherapy were performed alternately. Between December 2003 and March 2006, 90 patients in 25 facilities were enrolled in this study, 87 patients were finally evaluated. A total of 67 patients (76.1%) completed the course of treatment. The overall survival and the progression-free survival rates at 5 years were 78.04% (95% CI: 69.1~87.0%), and 68.74% (95% CI: 58.8~78.7%), respectively. The long-term outcomes of ALCRT for NPC were thought to be promising. ALCRT will be considered to be a controlled trial to compare therapeutic results with those of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for NPC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hyogo Ion Beam Medical Center, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobukazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fuwa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Aichi Cancer Center, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kodaira
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Daimon
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomokazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshizaki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002277:Carcinoma; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 5-fluorouracil; alternating chemoradiotherapy; cisplatin; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; phase 2 study