Intensity-modulated radiotherapy plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Jianfeng Huang,1,* Qinzhou Zou,1,* Danqi Qian,1 Leyuan Zhou,1 Bo Yang,1 Jianjun Chu,1 Qingfeng Pang,2 Kewei Wang,2 Fuzheng Zhang1 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, 2Department of Epidemiology, Wuxi Medical School of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plus nimotuzumab with or without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT) for patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC). Patients and methods: A total of 50 newly diagnosed patients with LA-NPC treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University between November 2011 and January 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received the combined treatment modality of nimotuzumab plus IMRT. Nimotuzumab was administered concurrently with IMRT at a weekly dose of 200 mg. Neoadjuvant, concurrent or adjuvant chemotherapy with the doublet regimen of taxanes (docetaxel or paclitaxel) plus platinum (cisplatin or nedaplatin) were administered. Among the 50 patients, 43 (86.0%) received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab (median 7 cycles, range 2–14 cycles) and 29 (58.0%) received two cycles of CCT with docetaxel plus nedaplatin. Results: With a median follow-up of 28.0 months, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival were 83.29% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 67.93%–91.72%) and 97.67% (95% CI: 84.62%–99.67%), respectively. Both univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that cycles of nimotuzumab were significantly associated with PFS. Patients who received ≥6 cycles of nimotuzumab showed a better PFS than those receiving