Treatment results of Gemcitabine-Cisplatin induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy in stage III-IVA nasopharyngeal carcinoma at National Cancer Hospital

Nguyen Van Dang, Do Huyen Chi

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Abstract

Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common head and neck cancers in Vietnam. For advanced stages, concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the cornerstone treatment with a high rate of local and regional disease control. However, treatment failure is mainly due to distant metastasis, raising the need for additional systemic therapy. While the role of adjuvant chemotherapy remains unclear, induction chemotherapy has shown promising results with better tolerability. This study was conducted on 57 patients with stage III-IVA nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with an induction chemotherapy regimen of gemcitabine and cisplatin followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital from 2019 to 2021. The study showed a response rate of 94.8% after induction chemotherapy, with a complete response rate of 86% after treatment. The 1-year and 2-year survival rates were 95.8% and 79.8%, respectively. Few grade ≥ 3 acute and chronic side effects were observed. The study demonstrates that the Gemcitabine-Cisplatin induction chemotherapy regimen followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy yields a high response rate and good tolerance.

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References

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