Efficacy of radical radiotherapy for primary tumors in patients with newly diagnosed oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Objective To investigate the prognostic factors for survival in patients with newly diagnosed oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma who received radical radiotherapy for primary tumors. Methods From 2008 to 2011, 39 patients with newly diagnosed oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma received 1-6 cycles of chemotherapy and radical radiotherapy for primary tumors. In those patients, 10 received conventional radiotherapy and 26 received intensity-modulated radiotherapy. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rates. The log-rank test and Cox model were used for univariate and multivariate prognostic analyses, respectively. Results The median follow-up time was 38 months. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year overall survival rates were 97%, 87%, and 70%, respectively, while the 1-, 2-, and 3-year progression-free survival rates were 87%, 65%, and 59%, respectively. Age, number of metastatic lesions, scheme of induction chemotherapy, and use of concurrent chemotherapy or not were independent prognostic factors for survival. The patients with no more than 3 metastatic lesions had a higher survival rate than those with more than 3 metastatic lesions (P=0.023). The patients undergoing chemotherapy with docetaxel had a significantly higher survival rate than those undergoing chemotherapy without docetaxel (P=0.041). Conclusions Induction chemotherapy and radical radiotherapy for primary tumors can still achieve long-term survival in patients with newly diagnosed oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma, particularly in young patients with no more than 3 metastatic lesions. Compared with chemotherapy without docetaxel, chemotherapy with docetaxel may provide a greater survival benefit for patients. Key words: Nasopharyngeal neoplasms/radiotherapy; Nasopharyngeal neoplasms/chemotherapy; Prognosis