Oncologic outcomes of IMRT versus CRT for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a prevalent malignancy in Asia particularly southern China. Comparisons of outcomes of conformal radiotherapy (CRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) have been still debated. This meta-analysis was carried out to compare oncologic outcomes of CRT and IMRT in the treatment of NPC. METHODS: A literature search was performed through PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library databases from their inceptions to November 10, 2018. Two authors assessed the included studies and extracted data independently. Relative studies that compared oncologic outcomes between CRT and IMRT for NPC were included. RESULTS: A total of 13 eligible studies were included, which contained 1 RCT, 1 prospective study, and 11 retrospective studies. Our meta-analysis showed that IMRT has increased overall survival (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.41–0.65, P < .00001), locoregional control rate (OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.52–0.67, P < .00001), disease-free survival (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.65–0.91, P = .002), and metastasis-free survival (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.54–0.94, P = .01) in comparison with CRT. CONCLUSION: The results of this meta-analysis indicate IMRT should be a better option for the treatment of NPC because patients who underwent IMRT may benefit from increased overall survival, locoregional control rate, disease-free survival, and metastasis-free survival compared with CRT.