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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2020; 41(02): 198-201
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_160_19
Original Article

Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Outcome from Cancer Institute, Chennai

Arun Kumar
Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Harish Kumar
Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Manikandan Dhanushkodi
Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Selvaluxmy Ganesharajah
Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Background: Optimal management of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) at presentation is debatable. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment outcome of patients with metastatic NPC treated with concurrent chemoradiation or with radiation alone and to analyze the factors that correlate with the outcome. Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients with metastatic NPC treated in Cancer Institute, Chennai, from 1996 to 2015 with either chemoradiation or only radiation. Factors including age, sex, stage, treatment type, and type of metastasis were correlated with the outcome. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20, and survival was estimated by Kaplan–Meier’s curve. Results: A total of 515 patients with NPC were treated during this period, and among them, 74 patients (14%) had metastasis at the time of presentation. The median follow-up was 14 months; the median progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) were 11 months and 19 months, respectively. About 72% (n = 53) were treated with chemoradiation and the rest 28% (n = 21) were treated with radiation alone. The 3-year OS was better in patients who received chemoradiation (39%) as compared to those who received only radiation (23.8%). Patients with the bone-only site of metastasis had better survival. Among them patients with oligometastatic bone disease (1–3 sites) had a better 3-year OS (51%) as compared to multiple bone metastasis (>3) 15.8%. Conclusion: Chemoradiation can be an option to treat metastatic NPC. Patients with oligometastatic bone disease had better survival.

Keywords

Chemoradiation - metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer - survival


Publication History

Received: 31 July 2019

Accepted: 19 January 2020

Article published online:
23 May 2021

© 2020. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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