Table 1.
Selected demographic data and baseline characteristics of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).
| Characteristics | Total | NE-CAR | E-CAR | P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No, %) | (No, %) | (No, %) | ||||||
| 2685 (100) | 1663 (61.9) | 1022 (38.1) | ||||||
| Gender | 0.499 | |||||||
| Male | 2535 (94.4) | 1574 (94.6) | 961 (94) | |||||
| Female | 150 (5.6) | 89 (5.4) | 61 (6) | |||||
| Age (y) | 0.002 | |||||||
| < 45 | 1308 (48.7) | 912 (54.8) | 497 (48.6) | |||||
| ≥ 45 | 1377 (51.3) | 751 (45.2) | 525 (51.4) | |||||
| Smoking | 0.169 | |||||||
| Yes | 838 (31.2) | 503 (30.2) | 335 (32.8) | |||||
| No | 1847 (68.8) | 1160 (69.8) | 687 (67.2) | |||||
| Family history of NPC | 0.344 | |||||||
| Yes | 140 (5.2) | 92 (5.5) | 48 (4.7) | |||||
| No | 2545 (94.8) | 1571 (94.5) | 974 (95.3) | |||||
| Clinical stage (7th) | < 0.001 | |||||||
| I+II | 349 (13) | 259 (15.6) | 90 (8.8) | |||||
| III+IV | 1336 (87) | 1404 (84.4) | 932 (91.2) | |||||
| T-stage | < 0.001 | |||||||
| T1-2 | 691 (25.7) | 479 (28.8) | 212 (20.7) | |||||
| T3-4 | 1994 (74.3) | 1184 (71.2) | 810 (79.3) | |||||
| N-stage | < 0.001 | |||||||
| N0-1 | 1238 (46.1) | 847 (50.9) | 391 (38.3) | |||||
| N2-3 | 1447 (53.9) | 816 (49.1) | 631 (61.7) | |||||
| Radiotherapy technique | 0.089 | |||||||
| 2DRT/3DCRT | 625 (23.3) | 369 (22.2) | 256 (25) | |||||
| IMRT | 2060 (76.7) | 1294 (77.8) | 1022 (75) | |||||
| Treatment | 0.227 | |||||||
| RT | 657 (24.5) | 420 (25.3) | 237 (23.2) | |||||
| CT+RT | 2028 (75.5) | 1243 (74.7) | 785 (76.8) | |||||
| EBV-DNA (copies ml-1) | < 0.001 | |||||||
| < 2560 | 1343 (50) | 914 (55) | 429 (42) | |||||
| ≥ 2560 | 1342 (50) | 749 (45) | 593 (58) | |||||
| Lactic dehydrogenase (U/L) | < 0.001 | |||||||
| < 171.5 | 1344 (50.1) | 909 (54.7) | 435 (42.6) | |||||
| ≥ 171.5 | 1341 (49.9) | 754 (45.3) | 587 (57.4) | |||||
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | < 0.001 | |||||||
| < 1.93 | 1344 (50.1) | 1344 (80.8) | 0 (0) | |||||
| ≥ 1.93 | 1341 (49.9) | 319 (19.2) | 1022 (100) | |||||
| Albumin (g/L) | < 0.001 | |||||||
| < 44.9 | 1362 (50.7) | 711 (42.8) | 651 (63.7) | |||||
| ≥ 44.9 | 1323 (49.3) | 952 (57.2) | 371 (36.3) | |||||
| Neutrophil (×109/L) | < 0.001 | |||||||
| < 4.2 | 1372 (51.1) | 953 (57.3) | 419 (41) | |||||
| ≥ 4.2 | 1313 (48.9) | 710 (42.7) | 603 (59) | |||||
| Lymphocyte (×109/L) | 0.103 | |||||||
| < 1.8 | 1399 (52.1) | 846 (50.9) | 553 (54.1) | |||||
| ≥ 1.8 | 1286 (47.9) | 817 (49.1) | 469 (45.9) | |||||
| Haemoglobin (g/L) | 0.003 | |||||||
| < 148 | 1362 (50.7) | 806 (48.5) | 556 (54.4) | |||||
| ≥ 148 | 1323 (49.3) | 857 (51.5) | 466 (45.6) | |||||
| Platelet (×109/L) | 0.169 | |||||||
| < 228 | 1356 (50.5) | 909 (54.7) | 447 (43.7) | |||||
| ≥ 228 | 1329 (49.5) | 754 (45.3) | 575 (56.3) | |||||
| Outcome features | ||||||||
| Deaths | 443 (16.5) | 223 | 220 | |||||
| Distant metastasis | 720 (26.9) | 396 | 324 | |||||
| Locoregional relapse | 566 (21.1) | 303 | 263 | |||||
Abbreviations: NE-CAR: non-elevated CRP/ALB ratio (CAR < 0.064); E-CAR: elevated CRP/ALB ratio (CAR ≥ 0.064); 2DRT: two-dimensional radiotherapy; 3DCRT: three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy; IMRT: intensity-modulated radiation therapy; RT: radiotherapy; CT: chemotherapy.