Abstract:
Objective To evaluate the efficacy and toxicities of PGC regimens (liposome paclitaxel, gemcitabine, carboplatin) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy in the treatment for patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods A total of 33 newly diagnosed patients with stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ A nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated with two cycles of PGC neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy: liposomal paclitaxel 135 mg/m2 + gemcitabine 1 000 mg/m2 + carboplatin,area under the curve (AUC) of 5, D1, every 3 weeks. At the 7th week, all patients began to receive intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with carboplatin AUC of 5, every 3 weeks. Results After two cycles of PGC induction chemotherapy, 21%(7 cases) achieved complete remission (CR), 61%(21 cases) partial remission (PR), 12%(4 cases) stable disease (SD) and 3%(1 case) progress (multiple lung metastasis). Evaluation of completed reaction 3 months after radiotherapy showed that 85% (28 cases) was CR, 12% (4 cases) was PR and 3%(1 case) was PD. 1-year overall survival (OS) was 100%. 1-year disease free survival (DFS) was 91%. Major side effects were leukopenia, thrombocytopenia reactions and liver damage, which all could be reversed. Conclusion PGC induction chemotherapy combined concurrent chemoradiotherapy has good curative effect and tolerable side reaction in the treatment for stage Ⅲ~ⅣA nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.