Feasibility and efficacy of chemoradiotherapy for elderly patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: results from a matched cohort analysis.

Background: To clarify the feasibility and efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in elderly (age≥65 years) patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: From January 2000 to December 2006, 101 newly diagnosed elderly non-metastatic NPC patients (age≥65 years) who received cisplatin 3-weekly or weekly concurrent CRT with/without sequential chemotherapy were recruited. Each patient from the CRT group was matched to another patient treated with radiotherapy (RT) alone based on age, gender, pathological type, performance status, overall stage, stage method, Adult Comorbidity Evaluation-27 (ACE-27) score and RT technique, from the same institute and time period.

Pretreatment body mass index as an independent prognostic factor in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with chemoradiotherapy: findings from a randomised trial.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the pretreatment body mass index (BMI) and the clinical outcomes in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Methods: From August 2002 to April 2005, 400 patients with stage III or stage IVa nasopharyngeal carcinoma were recruited for a randomised clinical trial of induction chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The patients were divided into four groups of underweight (BMI<18.

Emerging treatment options for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is endemic in Asia and is etiologically associated with Epstein-Barr virus. Radiotherapy is the primary treatment modality. The role of systemic therapy has become more prominent.

Elevated serum endostatin levels are associated with poor survival in patients with advanced-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Aims: To evaluate the prognostic value of serum endostatin levels in patients with advanced-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Materials And Methods: Between August 2003 and March 2005, 218 patients with advanced-stage NPC were enrolled in this study, including 70 patients in the training cohort and 148 in the validation cohort. The pre-treatment serum endostatin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were measured using competitive enzyme immunoassays.

Detection of nasopharyngeal cancer using confocal Raman spectroscopy and genetic algorithm technique.

Raman spectroscopy (RS) and a genetic algorithm (GA) were applied to distinguish nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) from normal nasopharyngeal tissue. A total of 225 Raman spectra are acquired from 120 tissue sites of 63 nasopharyngeal patients, 56 Raman spectra from normal tissue and 169 Raman spectra from NPC tissue. The GA integrated with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is developed to differentiate NPC and normal tissue according to spectral variables in the selected regions of 792-805, 867-880, 996-1009, 1086-1099, 1288-1304, 1663-1670, and 1742-1752 cm-1 related to proteins, nucleic acids and lipids of tissue.

Prognostic value and differences of the sixth and seventh editions of the UICC/AJCC staging systems in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify the prognostic value and differences between the 6th and 7th International Union Against Cancer/American Joint Committee on Cancer staging systems in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods: The magnetic resonance imaging scans and medical records of 903 patients with histologically diagnosed non-disseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma were reviewed retrospectively. Moreover, the extent of nasopharyngeal carcinoma was restaged according to the 6th and 7th editions of the staging systems.

Prognostic value of pretreatment and recovery duration of cranial nerve palsy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of cranial nerve (CN) palsy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on CN involvement using medical records of 178 consecutive patients with histologically diagnosed, non-disseminated NPC.

Results: In 178 NPC patients with CN palsy, the 5-year survival rates were as follows: overall survival (OS), 61.

Long-term treatment outcome of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with salvage intensity modulated radiotherapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term treatment outcome in patients with recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with salvage intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT).

Materials And Methods: One hundred and fifty one previously irradiation NPC patients with recurrent disease and re-irradiated by IMRT between 2001 and 2006 had been reviewed. The disease was re-stage I in 7, re-stage II in 21, re-stage III in 50 and re-stage IV in 73.

Prognostic significance of the various classifications for parapharyngeal space involvement in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Conclusion: Advanced parapharyngeal space (PPS) involvement showed stronger prognostic value than PPS involvement. The classification of PPS involvement proposed by Min or Sham was the most appropriate classification for parapharyngeal extension in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The degree of tumor extension into the PPS should be considered in future TNM staging revisions.

Prospective study of prognostic value of Raf kinase inhibitory protein and pretreatment plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA for distant metastasis in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the predictive significance of Raf kinase inhibitory protein (RKIP) in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its effect on distant metastasis.

Methods: The usual immunohistochemical stainings were performed to detect RKIP expression of cancer tissues from 210 patients with advanced NPC. After DNA samples from pretreatment plasma from these patients were extracted, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to quantitatively analyze plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA.

A randomized trial of induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus induction chemotherapy plus radiotherapy for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The aim of this randomized study was to compare the efficacy of induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (IC+CCRT) versus induction chemotherapy plus radiotherapy (IC+RT) for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. From August 2002 to April 2005, 408 patients were randomly divided into two groups: an IC+CCRT group and an IC+RT group. Patients in both groups received the same induction chemotherapy: two cycles of floxuridine (FuDR)+carboplatin (FuDR, 750 mg/m(2), d1-5; carboplatin, area under the curve [AUC]=6).

Expression of ERCC1 predicts clinical outcome in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with cisplatin-based induction chemotherapy.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between excision repair cross-complementation group 1 (ERCC1) protein with the clinical outcome of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with cisplatin-based induction chemotherapy. One hundred one Stage III-IVB nonkeratinizing NPC patients who were treated with cisplatin (DDP)+fluorouracil (5-Fu) induction chemotherapy were recruited. Pre-treatment tumor biopsy specimens were analyzed for ERCC1 by immunohistochemistry.

Ex vivo expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients for adoptive immunotherapy.

Establishing Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)-specific cytolytic T lymphocytes(EBV-CTLs) from peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) for adoptive immunotherapy has been reported in EBV-associated malignancies including Hodgkin's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). In the current study, we performed ex vivo expansion of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs) obtained from NPC biopsy specimens with a rapid expansion protocol using anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody(OKT3), recombinant human interleukin(IL)-2, and irradiated PBMCs from healthy donors to initiate the growth of TILs. Young TIL cultures comprised of more than 90% of CD3+ T cells, a variable percentage of CD3+CD8+ and CD3+CD4+ T cells, and less than 10% of CD3-CD16+ natural killer cells, a similar phenotype of EBV-CTL cultures from PBMCs.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy vs radiotherapy alone in stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma: phase III randomized trial.

Background: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) has been shown to improve outcomes for stage III-IV nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients compared with radiotherapy (RT) alone, but the effectiveness of the combined therapy for stage II NPC patients is unknown.

Methods: Patients with Chinese 1992 stage II NPC were randomly assigned to receive either RT alone (n = 114) or CCRT (n = 116). The CCRT patients were given concurrent cisplatin (30 mg/m(2) on day 1) weekly during RT.

Distribution, characterization, and induction of CD8+ regulatory T cells and IL-17-producing CD8+ T cells in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: CD8+ effector cells often have an antitumor function in patients with cancer. However, CD8+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tcregs) and interleukin (IL)-17-producing CD8+ T cells (Tc17 cells) also derive from the CD8+ T cell lineage. Their role in the antitumor response remains largely unknown.

Polymorphisms in the endothelin-1 and endothelin a receptor genes and survival in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the prognostic role of endothelin-1 (EDN1) and endothelin A receptor (EDNRA) gene polymorphisms in patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Experimental Design: Two hundred three consecutive patients with locoregionally advanced NPC were enrolled. Seven potentially functional polymorphisms in the EDN1 and EDNRA genes were determined by ligase detection reaction-PCR method from prospectively collected blood samples.

Prospective validation of the prognostic value of elevated serum vascular endothelial growth factor in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: more distant metastases and shorter overall survival after treatment.

Background: The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the prognostic value of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (sVEGF) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: sVEGF was prospectively detected in 306 patients with NPC with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before treatment. The correlations between sVEGF and the survival of these patients were evaluated.

Submandibular salivary gland transfer for the prevention of radiation-induced xerostomia in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: 5-Year outcomes.

Background: Our aim in this study was to investigate the value of the submandibular salivary gland transfer procedure in prevention of radiation-induced xerostomia in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: In all, there were 70 patients, consisting of a test group (36 patients) and a control group (34 patients) in a nonrandomized fashion. In the test group, the submandibular salivary gland was transferred to submental space before radiotherapy (XRT) and shielded.

Epstein-Barr virus-encoded LMP2A induces an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and increases the number of side population stem-like cancer cells in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

It has been recently reported that a side population of cells in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) displayed characteristics of stem-like cancer cells. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of such stem-like cell populations in NPC remain unclear. Epstein-Barr virus was the first identified human tumor virus to be associated with various malignancies, most notably NPC.

[Relationship between cranial nerve involvement in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the prognosis].

Objective: To analyze the feature of cranial nerve involvement in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its relationship with the prognosis.

Method: A total of 1892 patients who were diagnosed as NPC in our hospital from January 2002 to December 2003, of which the cranial nerve involvement was 183 (9.6%) patients, were analyzed the effect of cranial nerve involvement on the prognosis.

Elevated Beclin 1 expression is correlated with HIF-1alpha in predicting poor prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Recent studies have suggested that autophagy plays a pivotal role in regulation of cancer development and progression. High expression of the autophagy-related Beclin 1 protein predicted favorable patient outcome in several tumors. Here, a randomized controlled trial (RCT)-derived 128 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients were subjected to analysis of Beclin 1 expression and survival probability.

C-KIT overexpression and mutation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell lines and reactivity of Imatinib on these cell lines.

Background And Objective: We previously reported that C-KIT overexpression and mutation exist in biopsy samples of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Yet whether Imatinib had an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of NPC in vitro was still unknown. So, this study examined whether sensitivities to Imatinib of other cell lines are different and whether C-KIT expression and mutations exist, to analyze the correlations between them.

Induction-concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background And Objective: Induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy are the most two effective treatments for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study was to compare the efficacy of induction-concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy for patients with locoregionally advanced NPC.

Methods: From August 2002 to April 2005, 408 patients were randomly divided into the induction-concurrent chemoradiotherapy (IC/CCRT) group and the induction chemotherapy and radiotherapy (IC/RT) group.

Endoscopic microwave coagulation therapy for early recurrent T1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The result of reirradiation in recurrent T1 (rT1) nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is unsatisfactory. We sought to study the efficacy and complications of endoscopic microwave coagulation therapy (MCT) in salvaging rT1 NPC after primary radiotherapy. Between August 1994 and April 2005, 55 patients with rT1 NPC were treated with endoscopic MCT.

[Endoscopic microwave coagulation therapy for locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Background & Objective: Management of locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is difficult. External beam re-irradiation could cure some patients but might cause severe radiation injury. This study was to evaluate the clinical value of endoscopic microwave coagulation therapy as salvage treatment for locally recurrent NPC.