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Annals of Oncology 13:1252-1258, 2002
© 2002 European Society for Medical Oncology

Original Paper

Combination gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy for metastatic or recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma: report of a phase II study

R. K. C. Ngan1,+, H. H. Y. Yiu1, W. H. Lau1, S. Yau1, F. Y. Cheung1, T. M. Chan1, C. H. Kwok2, C. Y. Chiu2, S. K. Au1, W. Foo1, C. K. Law1 and K. C. Tse1

Departments of 1 Clinical Oncology and 2 Diagnostic Radiology and Imaging, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong

Received 10 October 2001; revised 28 January 2002; accepted 26 February 2002

Background:

To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) chemotherapy in metastatic or recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Patients and methods:

Forty-four patients of Chinese ethnicity with metastatic or recurrent NPC received ambulatory GC chemotherapy every 28 days (gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 days 1, 8 and 15; cisplatin 50 mg/m2 days 1 and 8). There were 40 male and four female patients with a mean age of 47.4 years. More than half (54.5%) of the patients had received either prior platinum-based chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy to target lesions.

Results:

There were nine complete responses and 23 partial responses in the 44 patients, achieving an overall response rate of 73% (78% for the 41 assessable patients). The mean duration of response was 5.3 months. Improved subjective symptom-control scores were found in 78% of patients with pre-existing symptoms, while 64% of patients experienced improved general well-being scores. Toxicity was mainly hematological: grade III/IV anemia, granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia were found in 11, 37 and 16% of cycles, respectively. With a median follow-up of 17.2 months, 62% survived 1 year while 36% were alive and progression free.

Conclusions:

Gemcitabine plus cisplatin chemotherapy offers a satisfactory overall response rate, subjective patient improvement and safety profile for metastatic and recurrent NPC.

Key words: cisplatin, gemcitabine, phase II, metastasis, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, recurrence


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