Table 2.
The baseline characteristics of high, intermediate, and low-risk groups in patients treated with IC plus CCRT or CCRT alone before propensity score matching.
| Characteristic | High-risk group (n = 603) |
Intermediate-risk group (n = 1530) |
Low-risk group (n = 499) |
p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%)a | No. (%)a | No. (%)a | ||
| Sex | <0.001 | |||
| Male | 524 (86.9) | 1192 (77.9) | 279 (55.9) | |
| Female | 79 (13.1) | 338 (22.1) | 220 (44.1) | |
| Histology (WHO) | 0.018 | |||
| Type I–II | 13 (2.2) | 44 (2.9) | 4 (0.8) | |
| Type III | 590 (97.8) | 1486 (97.1) | 495 (99.2) | |
| Age, years | 0.002 | |||
| ⩽30 | 85 (14.1) | 172 (11.2) | 53 (10.6) | |
| 31–40 | 148 (24.5) | 382 (25.0) | 159 (31.9) | |
| 41–50 | 202 (33.5) | 527 (34.4) | 156 (31.3) | |
| 51–60 | 117 (19.4) | 320 (20.9) | 111 (22.2) | |
| ⩾61 | 51 (8.5) | 129 (8.4) | 20 (4.0) | |
| Smoking history | 0.018 | |||
| No | 336 (55.7) | 885 (57.8) | 362 (72.5) | |
| Yes | 267 (44.3) | 645 (42.2) | 137 (27.5) | |
| Family of cancer | 0.296 | |||
| No | 463 (76.8) | 1162 (75.9) | 364 (72.9) | |
| Yes | 140 (23.2) | 368 (24.1) | 135 (27.1) | |
| T-stage (8th edition) | <0.001 | |||
| T1 | 19 (3.2) | 149 (9.7) | 137 (27.5) | |
| T2 | 48 (8.0) | 264 (17.3) | 122 (24.4) | |
| T3 | 338 (56.1) | 746 (48.8) | 217 (43.5) | |
| T4 | 198 (32.8) | 371 (24.2) | 23 (4.6) | |
| N-stage (8th edition) | <0.001 | |||
| N2 | 176 (29.2) | 1049 (68.6) | 448 (89.8) | |
| N3 | 427 (70.8) | 481 (31.4) | 51 (10.2) | |
| Overall stage (8th edition) | <0.001 | |||
| III | 95 (15.8) | 743 (48.6) | 431 (86.4) | |
| IV | 508 (84.2) | 787 (51.4) | 51 (10.2) | |
| EBV DNA, copy/mlb | <0.001 | |||
| <1000 | 0 (0) | 243 (15.9) | 416 (83.4) | |
| 1000–9999 | 51 (8.5) | 591 (38.6) | 57 (11.4) | |
| 10,000–99,999 | 243 (40.3) | 569 (37.2) | 26 (5.2) | |
| ⩾100,000 | 309 (51.2) | 127 (8.3) | 0 (0) | |
| HGB, g/lb | <0.001 | |||
| <113 | 58 (9.6) | 45 (2.9) | 2 (0.4) | |
| 113–151 | 374 (62.0) | 1001 (65.4) | 351 (70.3) | |
| ⩾151 | 171 (28.4) | 484 (31.6) | 146 (29.3) | |
| hs-CRP, g/mlb | <0.001 | |||
| <1.0 | 90 (14.9) | 417 (27.3) | 215 (43.1) | |
| 1.0–3.0 | 164 (27.2) | 559 (36.5) | 219 (43.9) | |
| ⩾3.0 | 349 (57.9) | 554 (36.2) | 65 (13.0) | |
| LDH, U/lb | <0.001 | |||
| <245 | 367 (60.9) | 1457 (95.2) | 493 (98.8) | |
| ⩾245 | 235 (39.0) | 73 (4.8) | 6 (1.2) | |
| Treatment | <0.001 | |||
| IC plus CCRT | 484 (80.3) | 1027 (67.1) | 272 (54.5) | |
| CCRT alone | 119 (19.7) | 503 (32.9) | 227 (45.5) |
CCRT, concurrent chemoradiotherapy; EBV, Epstein–Barr virus; HGB, hemoglobin; hs-CRP, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein; IC, induction chemotherapy; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; NPC, nasopharyngeal carcinoma; WHO, World Health Organization.
a
Percentages may not add up to 100, due to rounding.
b
All variables were measured before treatment.