Epidemiology and outcomes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Experience from a regional cancer center in Southern India

CONTEXT: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a rare head and neck cancer with significant geographical variation. There are limited data on epidemiology and outcomes of NPC reported from Southern India. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed our hospital data between January 2005 and December 2011 with NPC and analyzed their demographic parameters and outcomes with therapy. RESULTS: A total 143 cases of NPC were identified. Median age at presentation was 35 years with male predominance. Majority (84%) of the cases had the WHO Type 3 histology. Nodal metastasis at presentation was seen in 90% of the cases, majority being bilateral. Distant metastasis was seen in 16% of the cases, most commonly at bone, lung, and liver. Concurrent chemoradiation with weekly cisplatin was offered to 84.7% of localized disease while 80% of these also received adjuvant chemotherapy. Complete remission and partial remission were achieved in 66.1% and 15.2% of the cases, respectively. Weekly cisplatin was well tolerated with Grade 3–4 toxicity seen in 22% of cases. At a median follow-up of 20 months, 2-year progression-free survival and overall survival were 67.2% and 79.5%, respectively. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS software version 20. CONCLUSION: NPC is a rare head and neck malignancy in Southern India, presenting with advanced stage and more propensity to distant metastasis. It has good outcomes to concurrent chemoradiation with weekly schedule of cisplatin being well-tolerated regime. Further prospective studies to test this schedule and other novel agents in this potentially curable malignancy are warranted.