Association of Chemoradiotherapy Regimens and Survival Among Patients With Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma : A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses whether concurrent chemoradiotherapy is associated with improvement in survival outcomes for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Key Points

Question

Is induction chemotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy associated with additional survival benefit in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Findings

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 28 randomized clinical trials of 8036 patients, concurrent chemoradiotherapy was associated with substantial improvement in survival outcomes for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Survival benefit was also associated with the addition of induction chemotherapy but not adjuvant chemotherapy to concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

Meaning

For locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, concurrent chemoradiotherapy should be recommended as the standard treatment strategy, with the addition of induction chemotherapy but not adjuvant chemotherapy.

Abstract

Importance

The role of induction chemotherapy (IC) or adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) in the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains controversial.

Objectives

To update meta-analyses on the association of survival outcomes with IC and AC regimens in patients with locoregionally advanced NPC and assess whether the current evidence is conclusive by a trial sequential analysis (TSA) approach.

Data Sources

PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched for articles published from inception until June 1, 2019.

Study Selection

Randomized clinical trials that assessed the efficacy of radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy among previously untreated patients and patients with nondistant metastatic NPC.

Data Extraction and Synthesis

Data were extracted by 2 investigators from each trial independently and synthesized by the 2 investigators. All trial results were combined and analyzed by a fixed- or random-effects model.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis–free survival (DMFS), and locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS).

Results

A total of 8036 patients (median age, 46.5 years; 5872 [73.1%] male) from 28 randomized clinical trials were included in the analysis. Pooled analyses revealed that concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) was significantly associated with improved OS, PFS, DMFS, and LRFS compared with radiotherapy across all subgroups. The TSA confirmed the treatment outcomes of CCRT compared with radiotherapy. The additional IC regimen was associated with an improvement in OS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.84; 95% CI, 0.74-0.95), PFS (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.64-0.84), DMFS (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.59-0.78), and LRFS (HR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.64-0.85). These findings were consistent in subgroup analyses of multicenter trials with sample sizes greater than 250, years of survival rate of 5 or greater, median follow-up longer than 5 years, or low risk of bias. However, the additional AC regimen was not associated with a survival benefit in OS (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.78-1.23), PFS (HR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.70-1.07), DMFS (HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.64-1.10), or LRFS (HR, 0.80, 95% CI, 0.59-1.09). The TSA provided sound evidence on the additional benefit of IC but not AC.

Conclusions and Relevance

These data suggest a significant association of survival outcomes with CCRT in patients with locoregionally advanced NPC. The addition of IC instead of AC could achieve survival benefits. The potential therapeutic gain of AC should be explored in the future.