Table 1.
Clinical characteristics of NPC patients with N3 disease
| Characteristic | Chemoradiotherapy-non-MC Patients (n = 109) | Chemoradiotherapy-MC Patients (n = 21) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender, n (%) | 0.101 | ||
| Male | 68 (62.4) | 17 (81) | |
| Female | 41 (37.6) | 4 (19) | |
| Age, y | 0.989 | ||
| Median | 46 | 42 | |
| Range | 18–65 | 26–65 | |
| Pathology (World Health Organization) | 0.960 | ||
| Type II | 10 (9.2) | 2 (9.5) | |
| Type III | 99 (90.8) | 19 (90.5) | |
| Dose (Gy, range) | 0.961 | ||
| GTV | 69.96 | 69.75 | |
| Range | 69.3–74.2 | 69.7–70.95 | |
| T stage, n (%) | 0.074 | ||
| T1 | 12 (11) | 7 (33.3) | |
| T2 | 28 (25.7) | 6 (28.6) | |
| T3 | 36 (33) | 4 (19) | |
| T4 | 33 (30.3) | 4 (19) | |
| NeoCT (cycles), n (%) | |||
| 2 | 31 (28.4) | 0 | 0.002 |
| 3 | 65 (59.6) | 15 (71.4) | |
| 4 | 10 (9.2) | 3 (14.3) | |
| 6 | 3 (2.8) | 3 (14.3) | |
| ConCT (cycles), n (%) | 0.202 | ||
| 0 | 19 (17.4) | 5 (23.8) | |
| 1 | 21 (19.3) | 2 (9.5) | |
| 2 | 61 (56) | 14 (66.7) | |
| 3 | 8 (7.3) | 0 | |
| AdjCT (cycles), n (%) | 0.076 | ||
| 0 | 59 (54.1) | 18 (85.7) | |
| 1 | 35 (32.1) | 2 (9.5) | |
| 2 | 13 (11.9) | 1 (4.8) | |
| 3 | 2 (1.8) | 0 | |
| Total chemotherpy (cycles)a, n (%) | 0.889 | ||
| Median | 5 | 5 | |
| Range | 2–7 | 3–8 | |
| Response to NeoCT | 0.120 | ||
| CR | 1 (0.9) | 2 (9.5) | |
| PR | 105 (96.3) | 18 (87.7) | |
| SD | 3 (2.8) | 1 (4.8) | |
| Short-term treatment responseb | 0.584 | ||
| CR | 59 (54.1) | 10 (47.6) | |
| PR | 50 (45.9) | 11 (52.4) | |
Abbreviations: MC Maintenance chemotherapy, NeoCT Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, ConCT Concurrent chemotherapy, AdjCT Adjuvant chemotherapy, CR Complete response, PR Partial response
aTotal chemotherapy cycles was caculated as the total cycles of NeoCT, ConCT and AdjCT. bEvaluated 4–6 weeks upon completion of radiotherapy