Nasopharyngeal carcinoma medical therapy

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Faizan Sheraz, M.D. [2]

Overview

The mainstay of therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma is external beam radiotherapy, supplemented in some cases with chemotherapy.

Medical Therapy

The mainstay of therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma is external beam radiotherapy.

• Standard treatments for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma include:
  • External beam radiation therapy alone
  • Concurrent chemoradiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy
  • Chemotherapy alone for metastatic disease
• Undifferentiated subtype of nasopharyngeal carcinoma is highly radiosensitive

Treatment according to Stages

Stage	Treatment
Stage 1	External beam radiation
Stage 2	Chemotherapy given with radiation therapy, followed by more chemotherapy Radiation therapy to the tumor and lymph nodes in the neck
Stage 3	Chemotherapy given with radiation therapy, which may be followed by more chemotherapy Radiation therapy Radiation therapy followed by surgery to remove cancer -containing lymph nodes in the neck that remain or come back after radiation therapy
Stage 4	Chemotherapy given with radiation therapy, followed by more chemotherapy Radiation therapy Radiation therapy followed by surgery to remove cancer -containing lymph nodes in the neck that remain or come back after radiation therapy Chemotherapy for cancer that has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body