Optimal management of oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Purpose Oligometastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinctive subset of metastatic NPC. Imaging examinations and biomarkers can screen out NPC patients with limited number of sites showing metastasis. Past studies have demonstrated the survival advantages of oligometastatic NPC over multiple metastatic NPC. The treatment strategies of de-novo oligometastatic NPC differ owing to the heterogeneity of this disease. This study aims to systematically review the characteristics and treatments of oligometastatic NPC. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, the Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were used to search for publications with an emphasis on oligometastatic NPC. Results We have presented the current advances on the management of oligometastatic NPC, including the definition, diagnosis, biomarkers, classification, prognosis, subtype, especially systematic therapy, locoregional radiotherapy to the primary tumor, and treatments of the metastatic lesions. Conclusions More well-designed prospective clinical trials that are exclusive for oligometastatic NPC are warranted to determine the best treatment paradigm.