Results of radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

From October 1975 through May 1983, 29 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated with radiation. Four, 13, 6, and 6 were diagnosed as T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. Overall, the cumulative relapse-free survival at 5 years was 52 %. Five year cumulative survivals for the T1, T2, and T3 patients were 50 %, 67 %, and 42 %, respectively. Only one of the T4 patients is still alive with a follow-up period of 3 years and 7 months. Relapse site tended to depend on histology. Recurrence of keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma tended to occur at the original site of tumor and cervical lymph nodes, while non-keratinizing carcinoma tended to relapse at distant sites. Undifferentiated carcinoma tended to be associated with distant metastases and relapse in the vicinity of the original site. No serious radiation related complication was encountered in any of the patients. (Namekawa, K.)