Clinical outcome and prognostic analysis of young adults nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients of a nonendemic area in intensity-modulated radiotherapy era.

Aim: To investigate the clinical outcome and prognostic factors of young adults nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcome and the prognostic factors of young adults NPC patients who were admitted to our hospital from January 2010 to December 2013. COX regression model was used to identify factors associated with survival. The acute and late toxicities were also evaluated.

Results: A total of 165 patients were included; the median follow-up time for all the patients was 65 months (4-96 months). The 5-year overall survival (OS), distant metastasis-free survival, progression-free survival and local-regional recurrence-free survival were 85.9, 82.4, 76.4 and 92.4%, respectively. N stage was an independent prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.009) and distant metastasis-free survival (p = 0.008). Cumulative cisplatin >200 mg/m was an independent prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.032).

Conclusion: Young adults with NPC can achieve a reasonable local-regional control and OS in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy with tolerable toxicities.