I. Ayan et M. Altun, NASOPHARYNGEAL CARCINOMA IN CHILDREN - RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF 50 PATIENTS, International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics, 35(3), 1996, pp. 485-492
Citations number
40
Categorie Soggetti
Oncology,"Radiology,Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Purpose: To report a retrospective analysis of epidemiologic, clinical
, and therapeutic aspects of 50 children with newly diagnosed nasophar
yngeal carcinoma who were treated in a single institution over a perio
d of 18 years. Methods and Materials: Thirty-two male and 18 female ch
ildren ranging from 5 to 16 years, accounted for 7.2% of all nasophary
ngeal carcinoma cases and 52% of childhood nasopharyngeal malignancies
. Histopathology was World Health Organization Type 3 carcinoma in 45,
World Health Organization Type 2 in 4, and World Health Organization
Type 1 in one patient. Two of the patients had missing information for
staging and treatment evaluation. Disease extent was T1 (n = 4), T2 (
n = 9), T3 (n = 21), and T4 (n = 14); NO (n = 1), N1 (n = 6), N2 (n =
12), and N3 (n = 29), Six patients had base of skull invasion, two had
cranial nerve palsies, and six had both, One patient had M1 disease o
n admission, Twenty-three patients were treated with irradiation only,
Thirteen patients received adjuvant, and 12 had neoadjuvant chemother
apy in addition to radiotherapy, Patients received 50-72 Gy to the pri
mary tumor and involved nodes, and 45-50 Gy to uninvolved regions, Che
motherapy consisted of combinations including cisplatin, bleomycin, ep
irubicin, 5-flouroucil, and cyclophosphamide. Results: Thirty-eight (7
9%) patients attained locoregionel control. Overall, 22 patients are a
live without relapse 6-195 months from diagnosis, Thirteen patients ha
d 21 relapses, at local and/or regional sites (43%), distant sites (48
%), or both (9%), The median time for first relapse was 8 months. Over
all, the 5-and 10-year survival rates were 52 and 52%, respectively, a
nd the failure-free survival rates were both 53%, The results of three
distinct treatments given in subsequent time periods were not statist
ically different, Three second malignancies occurred 33-156 months fol
lowing nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosis. Conclusion: In the current
series, nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients under the age of 16 accounte
d for 7.2% of all nasopharyngeal carcinoma cases, Whereas the impact o
f chemotherapy on long-term survival remains to be determined by rando
mized studies, the results suggest that more effective treatment regim
ens and long-term follow-up are necessary for children with nasopharyn
geal carcinoma.