The addition of nimotuzumab during concurrent chemoradiotherapy improved survival outcomes in locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with optimal response to induction chemotherapy

• Published in: BMC cancer Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 950 - 11
• Main Authors: Guo, Lin-Feng, Rao, Ming-Yue, Yu, Yi-Feng, Lin, Qin, Wu, San-Gang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 02.08.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Alcohol; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - administration & dosage; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biopsy; Cancer; Care and treatment; Chemoradiotherapy; Chemoradiotherapy - methods; Chemotherapy; Chi-square test; Concurrent chemoradiotherapy; Diagnosis; Disease; Disease-Free Survival; Dosage and administration; EGFR inhibitor; Evaluation; Female; Histology; Humans; Induction Chemotherapy - methods; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Lymphatic system; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Medical prognosis; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Nasopharyngeal cancer; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - drug therapy; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - mortality; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - pathology; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma - therapy; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - mortality; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - pathology; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms - therapy; Neoplasm Staging; Nimotuzumab; Patient outcomes; Patients; Preferences; Radiation therapy; Radiotherapy; Regression analysis; Response; Retrospective Studies; Statistical analysis; Survival; Survival analysis; Testing; Throat cancer; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; Young Adult; China; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Response; Concurrent chemoradiotherapy; EGFR inhibitor; Nimotuzumab
• ISSN: 1471-2407; 1471-2407
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-024-12731-7

To investigate the impact of response to induction chemotherapy (IC) on survival outcomes in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC) and evaluate the efficacy of adding nimotuzumab to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) based on different responses to IC. We retrospectively included patients with stage III-IVA NPC who underwent IC with and without nimotuzumab during CCRT. Statistical analysis included the chi-square test, propensity score matching, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and Cox proportional hazards model. Among 383 identified patients, 216 (56.4%) received nimotuzumab during CCRT, while 167 (43.6%) did not. Following IC, 269 (70.2%) patients showed a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR), and 114 (29.8%) had stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD). The response to IC independently influenced disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients achieving CR/PR demonstrated significantly higher 3-year DFS (80.3% vs. 70.6%, P = 0.031) and OS (90.9% vs. 83.2%, P = 0.038) than those with SD/PD. The addition of nimotuzumab during CCRT significantly improved DFS (P = 0.006) and OS (P = 0.037) for CR/PR patients but not for those with SD/PD. This study emphasizes the importance of IC response in LANPC and highlights the potential benefits of nimotuzumab during CCRT for improving survival outcomes in CR/PR patients. Tailored treatment approaches for SD/PD patients warrant further investigation.