Nasopharyngeal Cancer: A Five-Year Retrospective Analysis of Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics with Survival Insights

Abstract

Author(s): Divya Mahajan*, Awadesh Kumar Pandey, Bushra Firdous, Prachi Mehmi, Navjot Kaur and Rishab Taneja

Background: Nasopharyngeal cancer is a rare tumor with significant diversity. Head and neck cancer are common in male whereas nasopharyngeal cancer still is uncommon. There is very less data available on survival and characteristics of nasopharyngeal cancer in North India.

Study design: Retrospective study.

Materials and methods: The HBCR data on all nasopharyngeal cancer patients who were treated were retrieved for a period of 5 years from 2017 to 2022. Statistical analysis used: SPSS software version 20.

Results: A total of 29 patients were analysed. Total male to female ratio is 1.4:1 i.e. 58.4% male and 41.4% are female. Most common age group affected is between 40 years to 60 years. Most common symptom was nasal blockade followed by neck swelling. Patient common stage of disease presentation was stage IV i.e. 45%, stage III was 34.4% and stage II was 21%. Metastasis was common in bone followed by lung and liver. In our study 59% of the patients were treated with radiation and concomitant chemotherapy. The overall survival by Kaplan meire curve at 2 years in our study population was 64.3% and 5 years survival analysis was 46.93%.

Conclusion: Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC) is an infrequent head and neck malignancy in Northern India, often diagnosed at an advanced stage with a higher likelihood of distant metastasis. Concurrent chemo-radiation therapy, particularly utilizing a weekly cisplatin regimen, has demonstrated favorable outcomes and tolerability. There is a pressing need for additional prospective research to evaluate this treatment schedule further and explore the potential benefits of novel agents in managing this potentially curable malignancy.

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