Radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The results of irradiation on fifty seven patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, treated from 1964 to 1985 at the Shinshu University Hospital, were studied. Forty-two percent of the patients had T3-4 primaries and 68% had N1-3 regional nodes; 86% had Stages III-IV of the disease. Of the 57 patients, 32 had squamous cell carcinomas, and 25 had lymphoepitheliomas. The overall 5-year survival rate was found to be 57%. Primary size (T) and histology influenced the survival of patients; the 5-year survival rate was 70% for T1-2 primary and 39% for T3-4 primary, and 39% for squamous cell carcinoma and 80% for lymphoepithelioma.