Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy With Capecitabine Plus Cisplatin in Patients With Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer: Case Series Study

PURPOSE: Capecitabine, an oral fluorouracil (5-FU) derivative, has replaced 5-FU in many chemotherapy regimens used in various GI tract cancers. The experience with capecitabine in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is limited. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We report on eight patients with locally advanced NPC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with capecitabine and cisplatin. RESULTS: All eight patients responded well to the chemotherapy combination and achieved complete remission after definitive chemoradiotherapy. No grade 3/4 toxicities were observed. Five patients experienced a relapse after 6, 8, 9, 12, and 17 months. CONCLUSION: In the patients studied, capecitabine (in combination with cisplatin) was a safe and effective substitution for 5-FU for the neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced NPC. Larger prospective clinical studies are required to confirm these results.