Expert consensus on the treatment of recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma

With the application of intensity-modulated radiotherapy, the locoregional control rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been significantly increased. However, there are still 10%-15% of patients suffering the recurrence of NPC. Re-treatment of recurrent NPC is a difficult clinical problem. In addition, the options of recurrent NPC treatment are diverse and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, which makes the treatment of recurrent NPC more confusing. Due to the lack of strong evidence of clinical trials, treatment guidelines and criteria cannot be formed and standardized. This consensus reviews the literature and clinical trials about the treatment of recurrent NPC, and further stratifies and summarizes the radiotherapy, surgical treatment, chemotherapy, and target therapy for recurrent NPC. Based on expert experiences, we draft out this article for clinically significant issues without sufficient clinical data, which aims to reach a preliminary consensus on the best therapeutic strategy for recurrent NPC. (authors)