Does Neoadjuvant/Induction Chemotherapy Benefit High-Risk, Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma?

Adding four cycles of neoadjuvant docetaxel and cisplatin before definitive chemoradiotherapy significantly improves distant metastasis–free and overall survival in patients with N2–3 disease.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a unique subset of head and neck cancers strongly associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection and prone to distant metastasis. While concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT), with or without induction and/or adjuvant systemic therapy, is the standard of care for locoregionally advanced NPC, patients with extensive nodal involvement (N2–3) remain at high risk for systemic failure.

In this multicenter, open-label, phase 3 trial conducted in China, 186 patients with newly diagnosed stage T1–4, N2–3, M0 NPC were randomized to receive either four cycles of neoadjuvant docetaxel (75 mg/m² on day 1) and cisplatin (37.5 mg/m² on days 2–3) followed by CRT, or CRT alone.

At a median follow-up of 76.9 months, the addition of…

Reviewing Author

Hyunseok Kang, MD, MPH, FACP

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPIN Therapeutics; Bayer; Remix Therapeutics; MitoImmune; LG Chem; Coherus; Hanmi Pharma

RoyaltiesBMJ Publishing

Grant/Research SupportNRG Oncology

Editorial BoardsHead and Neck; Cancer Medicine; Korean Journal of Head and Neck Oncology