Cancer Health Center

Note: Some citations in the text of this section are followed by a level of evidence. The PDQ editorial boards use a formal ranking system to help the reader judge the strength of evidence linked to the reported results of a therapeutic strategy. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Levels of Evidence for more information.)

Standard treatment options:

1. Chemoradiation therapy, as evidenced in INT-0099, for example.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
2. High-dose or superfractionated radiation therapy to the primary tumor site and bilateral lymph nodes that are clinically positive.[12,13]
3. Neck dissection should be reserved for persistent or recurrent nodes.[14]
4. Chemotherapy for patients with stage IVC disease.[15]

Treatment options under clinical evaluation:

1. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

   Neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been used to shrink tumors, which renders them more definitively treatable with radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is given prior to the other modalities, hence the designation neoadjuvant to distinguish it from standard adjuvant therapy, which is given after or during definitive therapy with radiation or after surgery. Many drug combinations have been used in neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

   Three randomized prospective trials compared combination chemotherapy (i.e., cisplatin, epirubicin, and bleomycin or cisplatin plus fluorouracil [5-FU] infusion) plus radiation therapy to radiation therapy alone.[1][Level of evidence: 1iiA];[16,17][Level of evidence: 1iiDii] Although disease-free survival (DFS) was improved in the chemotherapy group for both groups, improvement in overall survival (OS) was reported only from the Intergroup trial in which chemotherapy with cisplatin was ever concurrently given.[1]

   Clinical trials for advanced tumors to evaluate the use of chemotherapy before radiation therapy, concomitant with radiation therapy, or as adjuvant therapy after radiation therapy should be considered.[18,19,20,21]

2. Concurrent radiation therapy with chemotherapy.

   A study of 1,355 patients compared concurrent radiation therapy with carboplatin or cisplatin administered with 96-hour infusion of 5-FU monthly for three cycles.[22] The 3-year DFS rate was 63.4% for patients in the cisplatin arm and 60.9% for patients in the carboplatin arm (P = .961; HR = 0.70; 95% CI, 0.50-0.98). OS rates were 77% for patients in the cisplatin arm and 79% for patients in the carboplatin arm (P = .988; HR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.63-1.010).[22][Level of evidence: 1iiA] Toxicity to kidneys and red blood cell count was greater in patients in the cisplatin group.

3. New radiation therapy techniques such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy.[23]

Current Clinical Trials

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage IV nasopharyngeal cancer. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.

General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site.

References:

1. Al-Sarraf M, LeBlanc M, Giri PG, et al.: Chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy in patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer: phase III randomized Intergroup study 0099. J Clin Oncol 16 (4): 1310-7, 1998.
2. Teo PM, Chan AT, Lee WY, et al.: Enhancement of local control in locally advanced node-positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma by adjunctive chemotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 43 (2): 261-71, 1999.
3. Chan AT, Teo PM, Ngan RK, et al.: Concurrent chemotherapy-radiotherapy compared with radiotherapy alone in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: progression-free survival analysis of a phase III randomized trial. J Clin Oncol 20 (8): 2038-44, 2002.
4. Huncharek M, Kupelnick B: Combined chemoradiation versus radiation therapy alone in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: results of a meta-analysis of 1,528 patients from six randomized trials. Am J Clin Oncol 25 (3): 219-23, 2002.
5. Lin JC, Jan JS, Hsu CY, et al.: Phase III study of concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: positive effect on overall and progression-free survival. J Clin Oncol 21 (4): 631-7, 2003.
6. Chua DT, Ma J, Sham JS, et al.: Long-term survival after cisplatin-based induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a pooled data analysis of two phase III trials. J Clin Oncol 23 (6): 1118-24, 2005.
7. Wee J, Tan EH, Tai BC, et al.: Randomized trial of radiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer/International Union against cancer stage III and IV nasopharyngeal cancer of the endemic variety. J Clin Oncol 23 (27): 6730-8, 2005.
8. Zhang L, Zhao C, Peng PJ, et al.: Phase III study comparing standard radiotherapy with or without weekly oxaliplatin in treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: preliminary results. J Clin Oncol 23 (33): 8461-8, 2005.
9. Baujat B, Audry H, Bourhis J, et al.: Chemotherapy in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an individual patient data meta-analysis of eight randomized trials and 1753 patients. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 64 (1): 47-56, 2006.
10. Baujat B, Audry H, Bourhis J, et al.: Chemotherapy as an adjunct to radiotherapy in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cochrane Database Syst Rev (4): CD004329, 2006.
11. Chen Y, Liu MZ, Liang SB, et al.: Preliminary results of a prospective randomized trial comparing concurrent chemoradiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy with radiotherapy alone in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma in endemic regions of china. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 71 (5): 1356-64, 2008.
12. Johnson CR, Schmidt-Ullrich RK, Wazer DE: Concomitant boost technique using accelerated superfractionated radiation therapy for advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Cancer 69 (11): 2749-54, 1992.
13. Chen CY, Han F, Zhao C, et al.: Treatment results and late complications of 556 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with radiotherapy alone. Br J Radiol 82 (978): 452-8, 2009.
14. Mendenhall W, Werning J, Pfister D, et al.: Treatment of head and neck cancers. In: DeVita VT Jr, Hellman S, Rosenberg SA, eds.: Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. Vols. 1 & 2. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008, pp 809-77.
15. Ma BB, Tannock IF, Pond GR, et al.: Chemotherapy with gemcitabine-containing regimens for locally recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer 95 (12): 2516-23, 2002.
16. Preliminary results of a randomized trial comparing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (cisplatin, epirubicin, bleomycin) plus radiotherapy vs. radiotherapy alone in stage IV(> or = N2, M0) undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a positive effect on progression-free survival. International Nasopharynx Cancer Study Group. VUMCA I trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 35 (3): 463-9, 1996.
17. Lee AW, Lau WH, Tung SY, et al.: Preliminary results of a randomized study on therapeutic gain by concurrent chemotherapy for regionally-advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: NPC-9901 Trial by the Hong Kong Nasopharyngeal Cancer Study Group. J Clin Oncol 23 (28): 6966-75, 2005.
18. Dimery IW, Peters LJ, Goepfert H, et al.: Effectiveness of combined induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. J Clin Oncol 11 (10): 1919-28, 1993.
19. Chan AT, Teo PM, Leung TW, et al.: A prospective randomized study of chemotherapy adjunctive to definitive radiotherapy in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 33 (3): 569-77, 1995.
20. Merlano M, Benasso M, Corvò R, et al.: Five-year update of a randomized trial of alternating radiotherapy and chemotherapy compared with radiotherapy alone in treatment of unresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. J Natl Cancer Inst 88 (9): 583-9, 1996.
21. Jeremic B, Shibamoto Y, Milicic B, et al.: Hyperfractionated radiation therapy with or without concurrent low-dose daily cisplatin in locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a prospective randomized trial. J Clin Oncol 18 (7): 1458-64, 2000.
22. Chitapanarux I, Lorvidhaya V, Kamnerdsupaphon P, et al.: Chemoradiation comparing cisplatin versus carboplatin in locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer: randomised, non-inferiority, open trial. Eur J Cancer 43 (9): 1399-406, 2007.
23. Hunt MA, Zelefsky MJ, Wolden S, et al.: Treatment planning and delivery of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for primary nasopharynx cancer. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 49 (3): 623-32, 2001.