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Induction chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine followed by accelerated radiotherapy and concurrent cisplatin in patients with stage IV(A‐B) nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Author(s) -
Yau TszKok,
Lee Anne WingMui,
Wong Dominique HiuMing,
Yeung Rebecca MeiWan,
Chan Elian WingKin,
Ng WaiTong,
Tong Macy,
Soong Inda Sung
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.20421
Subject(s) - gemcitabine , cisplatin , nasopharyngeal carcinoma , chemotherapy , induction chemotherapy , medicine , regimen , radiation therapy , oncology , stage (stratigraphy) , survival rate , gastroenterology , biology , paleontology
Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of cisplatin plus gemcitabine as induction chemotherapy in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods. Thirty‐seven patients with stage IV(A‐B) NPC were treated with 3 cycles of cisplatin plus gemcitabine (cisplatin 80 mg/m 2 on day 1; gemcitabine 1250 mg/m 2 on days 1 and 8) 3‐weekly as induction chemotherapy, followed by another 3 cycles of concurrent cisplatin (100 mg/m 2 on day 1) 3‐weekly with accelerated radiotherapy (RT) at 70 Gy in 2‐Gy fractions, 6 daily fractions per week. Results. The overall response rate to induction chemotherapy was > 90%, and side effects other than uncomplicated hematologic toxicities were uncommon. All patients completed RT, with 92% receiving ≥ 5 cycles of chemotherapy. At a median follow‐up of 2.9 years, the 3‐year overall survival (OS) and disease‐free survival (DFS) rates were 76% and 63%, respectively. Conclusions. Cisplatin plus gemcitabine is a well‐tolerated, effective, and convenient induction chemotherapy regimen and warrants further studies to confirm its benefit in advanced NPC. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2006