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. 2016 Apr 7:35:37.
doi: 10.1186/s40880-016-0098-y.

Forty-six cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with 50 Gy radiotherapy plus hematoporphyrin derivative: 20 years of follow-up and outcomes from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center

Bing-Qing Xu  1 , Zi-Wei Tu  1 , Ya-Lan Tao  1 , Zhi-Gang Liu  1 , Xiao-Hui Li  1 , Wei Yi  2 , Chang-Bing Jiang  2 , Yun-Fei Xia  3
Affiliations

Forty-six cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with 50 Gy radiotherapy plus hematoporphyrin derivative: 20 years of follow-up and outcomes from the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center

Bing-Qing Xu et al. Chin J Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: With the improved overall survival (OS) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients, the importance of quality of life (QoL) is increasingly being recognized. For some radiosensitive NPC patients, whether low-dose radiotherapy can improve the QoL without affecting clinical efficacy is unknown. This study aimed to assess the survival rates and QoL of NPC patients treated with 50 Gy radiotherapy plus hematoporphyrin derivative (HPD).

Methods: Forty-six newly diagnosed NPC patients treated with 50 Gy radiotherapy plus HPD between June 1988 and July 1992 were analyzed. All patients were restaged according to the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system. The radiotherapy plan was designed on the basis of pretreatment computed tomography. The OS, local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. QoL was assessed using the Late Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

Results: The 5-year OS, LRFS, DMFS, and DFS rates were 74.3%, 72.6%, 82.1%, and 61.2%, respectively. The corresponding 10-year rates were 38.4%, 62.9%, 78.5%, and 49.8%, respectively, and the 20-year rates were 27.7%, 51.4%, 78.5%, and 40.7%, respectively. None of the patients developed severe radiation-related complications, such as radiation-induced temporal lobe necrosis, hearing loss, trismus, and dysphagia.

Conclusion: Some NPC patients were sensitive to 50 Gy radiotherapy plus HPD, and this sensitivity was characterized by long-term survival without significant late treatment morbidities.

Keywords: Low-dose radiotherapy; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Quality of life; Radiosensitivity.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patient selection. RT radiotherapy; HPD hematoporphyrin derivatives; CT computed tomography; PR partial response; CR complete response
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The Kaplan–Meier estimated survival curves of the 46 patients with NPC. a overall survival; b local recurrence-free survival; c distant metastasis-free survival; and d disease-free survival
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Examination of an NPC patient 20 years after 50 Gy radiotherapy plus HPD. a whole body bone scan image without abnormally increased uptake; b nasopharyngeal neoplasm disappears on nasopharyngeal magnetic resonance image (MRI); c cervical lymph node metastases are not found on cervical MRI; d chest computed tomography (CT) is normal; e upper abdominal CT without any abnormal lesion; f metastases are not found on lower abdominal CT
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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