Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: clinical course and results of therapy

Ninety-nine patients with carcinoma of the nasopharynx were reviewed. No significant relationship was found between T classification and survival or between tumor cell type and survival. The presence of regional metastases, however, did influence the outcome of therapy. A 5-year survival of 34.4% was recorded for patients without nodal disease in contrast to 14% for patients with massive lymphadenopathy or bilateral cervical metastases. The significance of regional metastases is supported by the relationship between survival and disease stage. The 5-year survival for stage I was 67%, while the average survival for stages III and IV was 21%. The average 3- and 5-year survivals for the entire series of patients were 36.2% and 23.9%, respectively. Early lesions confined to the primary site have the greatest chance of cure, but even advanced disease with bone destruction or cranial nerve involvement may be controlled with radiotherapy in some cases. Patients who develop cervical metastases following successful control of nasopharyngeal tumor may be cured by radical neck dissection. Two (28.6%) of seven patients undergoing surgical treatment survived for 10 years following neck dissection.