Treatment results of nasopharyngeal cancer - A nationwide survey from Finland

The nationwide experience of treating nasopharyngeal cancer in Finland during the period 1980-1989 was reviewed, Of the 107 patients included in the present analysis, 13 were treated palliatively only, and three had metastatic disease at their first clinical presentation, whereas the rest (n = 91) were treated with radical radiotherapy, of whom, 8 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy after radiotherapy, The 5-year actuarial survival rates of these 91 patients was 52%, and by the UICC stage they were classified as follows: stage I 75% (n = 12), stage II 60% (n = 5), stage III 59% (n = 34), and stage IV 38% (n = 40), According to the Cox's stepwise proportional hazard model the most important factors influencing favourable survival were the total dose of radiotherapy expressed in terms of Biologically Effective Dose (BED) with a time factor, a small size of the primary tumour and a high performance status according to the WHO scale, whereas the most important factors influencing the local control analysis were the total dose of radiotherapy (expressed in BED) and the cervical lymph node status.