Combined chemotherapy for recurrent and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Thirty-two patients (24 males, 8 females; median age 54 yrs) with recurrent and/or metastatic undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type were treated with chemotherapy. Remissions were observed in 17 of 32 (53.2%) with 5 complete (CR) (15.6%) and 12 partial responses (PR) (37.6%). A combination of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil was the most effective regimen (CR + PR = 83.3%). Objective responses. (CR + PR) were 47% (CR = 11.7%) in schemes without cisplatin and 60% (CR = 20%) in cisplatin-based combinations. The median overall duration of response was 7.2 months. The median overall survival time was 10.3 months: 15.1 months for responders and 5.2 for non-responders. No important toxicity was observed.