Evolutionary role of chemotherapy in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a literature-based network meta-analysis.

Purpose: The role of chemotherapy has evolved greatly in advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We undertook this network meta-analysis to establish the optimal chemotherapy strategy in advanced NPC.

Materials And Methods: This network meta-analysis recruited randomized clinical trials involving patients with advanced NPC randomly allocated to induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT; induction + CRT), CRT plus adjuvant chemotherapy (CRT + adjuvant), CRT or radiotherapy (RT) alone.