Locally Advanced Childhood Nasopharyngeal Cancer: A Case Series

Abstract

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor in childhood. To date, no consensus has been achieved concerning the recommendations for the management of childhood Nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the main modalities in the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Five cases (with an age range between 10 and 16 years), including one patient with stage III NPC and four patients with stage IV NPC, are reported in this study. All patients received four courses of induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation with cumulative irradiation, with a dose of 70 Gy in 33-37 fractions. Patients were treated with intensity modulated radiation therapy with simultaneous integrated boost technique using helical Tomotherapy. After two-year’s follow-up, four patients were achieved complete response, one patient showed residual disease in lymph nodes in the neck and bone metastases one year after the completion of treatment. Treatment side effects were well tolerated, there was no acute toxicity grade 3 or 4, and late toxicity consisted of chronic sinusitis, grade 1 xerostomia, and grade 1 skin fibrosis.