The role of concurrent chemotherapy to intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) after neoadjuvant docetaxel and cisplatin treatment in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of concurrent chemotherapy to intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 120 patients with stage III-IVB NPC treated with NACT followed by IMRT alone (39 patients, arm 1) or CCRT (81 patients, arm 2) between May 2009 and June 2012 were eligible for study inclusion. NACT consisted of docetaxe (DOC, 60 mg/m², day 1) and cisplatin (DDP, 100 mg/m², days 1–5, every 3 weeks). Concurrent chemotherapy was nedaplatin (NDP, 25 mg/m², days 1–3, every 3 weeks). The median follow-up period was 41 (range 5–52) months, and the 3-year overall survival, distant metastases-free survival, locoregional relapse-free survival, and progression-free survival rates of arm 1 and arm 2 were 83.3 and 87.4 % (P = 0.516), 81.7 and 79.6 % (P = 0.596), 86 and 92.3 % (P = 0.920), 76.4 and 76.4 % (P = 0.709), respectively. During radiotherapy, the most commonly recorded grade 3/4 adverse events were anemia (7.7 vs. 4.9 %), leucopenia (10.2 vs. 3.7 %), thrombocytopenia (12.8 vs. 3.7 %), neutropenia (15.4 vs. 6.2 %), nausea/vomiting (7.7 vs. 12.3 %), stomatitis/mucositis (38.5 vs. 46.9 %), xerostomia (35.9 vs. 30.8 %), dermatitis (7.7 vs. 7.4 %), and fatigue(15.4 vs. 17.2 %) for arm 1 and arm 2. The results of this study indicated that added concurrent chemotherapy to IMRT after neoadjuvant DOC and DDP treatment for locoregionally advanced NPC was probably not be necessary.