Clinical Outcome and Prognostic Factors of Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for T4 Stage Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Objective. To analyze the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for T4 stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods. Between March 2005 and March 2010, 110 patients with T4 stage NPC without distant metastases were treated. All patients received IMRT. Induction and/or concurrent chemotherapy were given. 47 (42.7%) patients received IMRT replanning. Results. The 5-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), regional recurrence-free survival (RRFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) rates were 90.1%, 97.0%, 67.5%, 63.9%, and 64.5%, respectively. Eleven patients experienced local-regional failure and total distant metastasis occurred in 34 patients. 45 patients died and 26 patients died of distant metastasis alone. The 5-year LRFS rates were 97.7% and 83.8% for the patients that received and did not receive IMRT replanning, respectively (P = 0.023). Metastasis to the retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN) was associated with inferior 5-year OS rate (61.0% versus 91.7%, P = 0.034). The gross tumor volume of the right/left lymph nodes (GTVln) was an independent prognostic factor for DMFS (P = 0.006) and PFS (P = 0.018). GTVln was with marginal significance as the prognostic factor for OS (P = 0.050). Conclusion. IMRT provides excellent local-regional control for T4 stage NPC. Benefit of IMRT replanning may be associated with improvement in local control. Incorporating GTVln into the N staging system may provide better prognostic information.