Intensity modulated radiation therapy in elderly patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the outcomes in elderly patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated by intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods  Patients with NPC aged ≥ 70 years old who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy ≥ 60 Gy were recruited into this study. The overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), locoregional recurrence-free rate (LRFR) and distant metastasis-free rate (DMFR) were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model was applied to perform multivariate analysis for independent prognosticators using meaningful variables from the univariate analysis. Results One hundred ninety seven patients with NPC ≥ 70 years were recruited from the 4351 newly diagnosed NPC patients from January 2011 to December 2020. The 5-year OS, CSS, PFS, LRFR and DMFR were 59.6%, 78.9%, 51.3%, 91.6% and 78.9%, respectively. the plasma EBV DNA was the only prognostic factor for OS, the overall staging was the only prognostic factor for CSS, and plasma EBV DNA and N category were borderline significant factor for DMFR. We did not find any prognosticator for PFS and LRFR. Conclusions The survival after IMRT for elderly patients with NPC is suboptimal. Further study stratified by comorbidity and geriatric assessment is needed.