Concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in older patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma after intensity-modulated radiotherapy: A propensity score-matched cohort study

Background and purposeWhether concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) benefits the older (age ≥ 60 years) patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has not been determined. This study aimed to compare the outcomes and toxicities of CCRT with Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) alone in older patients with stage II NPC.Materials and methodsBetween January 2010 and December 2017, 220 older (age ≥ 60 years) patients with stage II NPC were analyzed. A pair of 53 patients were matched between the CCRT group and RT group by using propensity score matching (PSM) in terms of age, sex, pathological type, T and N stage, ACE-27 scores, CRP, LDH and Hb. Cancer-specific survival (CSS), progression-free survival (PFS), locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) were analysed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed to assess the prognostic risk factors by using a Cox's proportional hazards regression model. Treatment toxicities were clarified and compared between the two groups by using the χ2 test.ResultsThe median follow-up time of the whole cohort was 82.0 months (range, 11-151 months). PSM analysis indicated that compared with the RT group, significantly higher 5-year CSS (98.1% vs. 83.0%, P = 0.02), PFS (98.1% vs. 79.2%, P = 0.01) and DMFS (100.0% vs. 92.4%, P = 0.04) were observed in the CCRT group. Multivariate analysis showed that CCRT was an independent prognostic factor predicting CSS (HR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.15-0.79; P = 0.01), PFS (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.93; P = 0.03), and LRRFS (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14-0.90; P = 0.03), and a higher ACE-27 score predicted a worse CSS. Patients in the CCRT group experienced higher frequencies of the acute toxicities than patients in the RT group. Late complications were comparable between the two groups.ConclusionCCRT significantly improved the survival benefits for the older patients with stage II NPC compared with IMRT alone without adding late complications, whereas increased some of the treatment-associated acute toxicities.