Study on the radiotherapy effect and serum neutral granulocyte lymphocyte ratio and inflammatory factor expression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Purpose: To compare target area delineation schemes in intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) effect on patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: A total of 88 NPC patients received IMRT and were assigned into control group ( = 44) and observation group ( = 44) based on MRI and CT imaging. In the control group, the treatment range was determined as the clinical target volume (CTV) as the gross tumor volume (GTV) + 5 mm. In the observation group, high-risk target areas CTVp1 was GTVp + 5 mm, lymphatic drainage area CTVn1 was GTVn + 5 mm, medium-risk CTVp2 was CTVp1 + 5 mm margin + the whole nasopharyngeal area, CTVn2 was CTVn1 + 5 mm. Radiotherapy treatment course was 6-8 weeks, four times a week.

Results: The observation group had higher total effective rate, with fewer complications. Neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR), interleukin (IL)-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels were lower after radiotherapy in both groups compared to before radiotherapy, with the observation group demonstrating lower levels than the control group. The effective group exhibited lower serum NLR, IL-6, and TNF-α compared to the non-effective group. T stage, target location, serum NLR, IL-6, and TNF-α were risk factors for the effect of radiotherapy.

Conclusions: Serum NLR, IL-6, and TNF-α have predictive significance for radiotherapy effect.