Comparison of efficacy and safety of three induction chemotherapy regimens with gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP), cisplatin plus fluorouracil (PF) and cisplatin plus capecitabine (PX) for locoregionally advanced previously untreated nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A pooled analysis of two prospective studies

Role of chemotherapy in patients with nasopharynx carcinoma treated with radiotherapy (MAC-NPC): an updated individual patient data network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The meta-analysis of chemotherapy for nasopharynx carcinoma (MAC-NPC) collaborative group previously showed that the addition of adjuvant chemotherapy to concomitant chemoradiotherapy had the highest survival benefit of the studied treatment regimens in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Due to the publication of new trials on induction chemotherapy, we updated the network meta-analysis.

METHODS

For this individual patient data network meta-analysis, trials of radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy in patients with non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma that completed accrual before Dec 31, 2016, were identified and updated individual patient data were obtained. Both general databases (eg, PubMed and Web of Science) and Chinese medical literature databases were searched. Overall survival was the primary endpoint. A frequentist network meta-analysis approach with a two-step random effect stratified by trial based on hazard ratio Peto estimator was used. Global Cochran Q statistic was used to assess homogeneity and consistency, and p score to rank treatments, with higher scores indicating higher benefit therapies. Treatments were grouped into the following categories: radiotherapy alone, induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, induction chemotherapy without taxanes followed by chemoradiotherapy, induction chemotherapy with taxanes followed by chemoradiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, and radiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42016042524.

FINDINGS

The network comprised 28 trials and included 8214 patients (6133 [74·7%] were men, 2073 [25·2%] were women, and eight [0·1%] had missing data) enrolled between Jan 1, 1988, and Dec 31, 2016. Median follow-up was 7·6 years (IQR 6·2-13·3). There was no evidence of heterogeneity (p=0·18), and inconsistency was borderline (p=0·10). The three treatments with the highest benefit for overall survival were induction chemotherapy with taxanes followed by chemoradiotherapy (hazard ratio 0·75; 95% CI 0·59-0·96; p score 92%), induction chemotherapy without taxanes followed by chemoradiotherapy (0·81; 0·69-0·95; p score 87%), and chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy (0·88; 0·75-1·04; p score 72%), compared with concomitant chemoradiotherapy (p score 46%).

INTERPRETATION

The inclusion of new trials modified the conclusion of the previous network meta-analysis. In this updated network meta-analysis, the addition of either induction chemotherapy or adjuvant chemotherapy to chemoradiotherapy improved overall survival over chemoradiotherapy alone in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

FUNDING

Institut National du Cancer and Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer.

Tumor volume reduction after induction chemotherapy with gemcitabine plus cisplatin in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the tumor volume reduction after induction chemotherapy (IC) with gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) and to build prediction models for tumor volume reduction in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODS

NPC patients who received GP IC were retrospectively enrolled. The gross tumor volume of the nasopharynx and lymph nodes (GTVnx and GTVnd) were contoured before and after IC. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify associated factors. Nomogram models were constructed to predict the possibility of tumor volume reduction.

RESULTS

A total of 192 patients were enrolled. The mean relative volume reduction for GTVnx and GTVnd was 29.66% and 31.75%, respectively. The volume reduction of GTVnx and GTVnd had a weak association (r = 0.229, p < 0.001). For GTVnx volume reduction, pre-treatment neutrophil count (p = 0.043), lymphocyte count (p = 0.026), LDH level (p = 0.005), and BMI (p = 0.020) were independently associated factors. For GTVnd volume reduction, pre-treatment EBV-DNA (p = 0.029), GTVnd volume (p < 0.001), eosinophil count (p = 0.043), NLR (p = 0.039), LDH level (p = 0.026), and serum potassium level (p = 0.027) were independently associated factors. For the GTVnx nomogram model, areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) were 0.702 and 0.698 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively. For the GTVnd nomogram model, the AUC was 0.872 and 0.758 for the training and validation cohorts, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Tumor volumes reduce significantly after GP induction chemotherapy. Nomogram models for predicting the possibility of tumor volume reduction are built.

Neoadjuvant toripalimab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin in resectable locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (NeoTGP01): An open label, single-arm, phase Ib clinical trial

Background

Neoadjuvant programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitors have drawn increasing attention in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In this study, we investigated the safety and efficacy of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP), combined with a PD-1 inhibitor, in patients with locally advanced HNSCC.

Materials and methods

A total of 23 eligible patients were administered two cycles of toripalimab and GP followed by surgical resection. The primary endpoints were safety, treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs), and non-operation delay rates. The secondary endpoints consisted of pathological complete response (pCR) rate, major pathological response (MPR) rate, objective response rate (ORR), and R0 resection rate.

Results

The incidence of TRAEs from grades 1 to 4 was 43.5%, 34.8%, 13.0%, and 8.7%, respectively. Grade 3/4 TRAEs included neutropenia, fatigue, hyperglycemia, nausea and vomiting, decreased appetite, rash, and diarrhea. No treatment-related surgical delay was observed. The radiographic response rates were 5.0% (CR), 40.0% (PR), and 55.0% (SD). The ORR reached 45.0%. Eighteen patients underwent successful surgical resection. The R0 resection rate was 100%. The pathological response rates were 16.7% (pCR), 27.8% (MPR, two of five near-pCR), 16.7% (PPR), and 38.8% (NPR). CD4, CD8, CD20, and CD38 expression in the tumors significantly increased after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The increase in CD20 levels after neoadjuvant treatment in patients with pCR/MPR was significantly higher than in patients with PPR/NPR.

Conclusion

Triweekly neoadjuvant toripalimab-GP is feasible and achieves promising pCR and MPR rates in patients with resectable locally advanced HNSCC.

Trial registration

Chinese clinical trial registry, ChiCTR2100043743, Registered 27 Febrary 2021- Retrospectively registered, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=120570

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-022-02510-2.

Comparison Efficacy and Safety of Gemcitabine plus Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil plus Cisplatin for Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Objective

To compare the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) and 5-fluorouracil plus cisplatin (PF) for metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods

The clinical trials of GP and PF in the treatment of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) were searched in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The literature search met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The software Revman 5.4 was used for data analysis, and STATA 15.0 was used for publication bias.

Results

10 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that the GP group had a higher clinical remission rate than the PF group (RR = 1.22, 95% CI (1.03–1.44), P=0.02, P=0.02). GP and PF groups in OS, PFS, and DMFS had the same effect at 1, 2, and 3 years (OS at 1 year: RR = 1.04, 95% CI (0.95–1.15), P=0.37, P=0.37; 2 years: RR = 1.08, 95% CI (0.94 1.23), P=0.28, P=0.28; 3 years: RR = 1.07, 95% CI (0.89 1.29), P=0.46; PFS at 1 year: RR = 1.98, 95% CI (0.29 13.44), P=0.49; 2 years: RR = 3.09, 95% CI (0.10 97.55), P=0.52; 3 years: RR = 0.95, 95% CI (0.73 1.24), P=0.71; DMFS at 1 year: RR = 1.01, 95% CI (0.90–1.14), P=0.83; 3 years: RR = 1.10, 95% CI (0.85–1.41), P=0.47. The number of hematological adverse reactions occurred in GP group was higher than the PF group.

Conclusion

The GP and PF groups had similar OS, PFS, and DMFS, but the GP group had a higher clinical remission rate. Therefore, GP may be the first choice for metastatic NPC.

A Single-Arm Phase 2 Trial on Induction Chemotherapy Followed by Concurrent Chemoradiation in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Using a Reduced Cumulative Dose of Cisplatin

Background

We conducted this study to evaluate if a reduced cumulative dose of induction and concurrent cisplatin conferred similar favorable outcomes when compared to trial NPC-0501.

Methods

Newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) with stage III-IVA were prospectively recruited from January 2015 to September 2019. Induction chemotherapy (IC) consisted of cisplatin 80mg/m² on day 1 and capecitabine 1000mg/m² twice daily from day 1 to 14 every 3 weeks for 3 cycles followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with 2 cycles of cisplatin 100mg/m² given every 3 weeks. Tumor response was evaluated according to RECIST v1.1. Acute and late adverse events (AEs) were graded with CTCAE v4.0 and Late Radiation Morbidity Scoring of the RTOG, respectively.

Results

135 patients were recruited. At 16 weeks after CCRT, all 130 patients who completed the entire course of radiotherapy (RT) had a complete response upon final assessment. With a median follow-up of 36.2 months, 22 treatment failures and 8 deaths were observed. The 3-year progression-free survival, overall survival, locoregional recurrence-free survival, and distant recurrence-free survival were 83.7%, 94.1%, 94.1%, and 85.9%, respectively. Our survival data outcomes were similar to those reported in the cisplatin and capecitabine (PX) induction arm of the 0501 trial. 103 patients (76.3%) reported acute grade 3-4 AEs. Two patients (1.5%) had late grade 3-4 complications, numerically fewer than those reported in the NPC-0501 trial.

Conclusions

Induction PX and concurrent cisplatin with a reduced cumulative cisplatin dose yield survival outcomes comparable to those reported in the NPC-0501 trial with excellent tolerability. Therefore, a reduced cumulative dose of cisplatin is a promising treatment scheme for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Management of first-line palliative chemotherapy for post-treatment metastasis after gemcitabine plus cisplatin induction chemotherapy: Gemcitabine plus cisplatin and non-gemcitabine plus cisplatin chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

To evaluate whether patients with post-treatment metastasis are suitable for GP first-line palliative chemotherapy (PCT) after undergoing GP IC.

METHODS

Seven hundred and forty-six patients with post-treatment metastasis after undergoing GP IC were eligible. Survival outcomes were compared.

RESULTS

Significant differences in survival rates were observed between patients treated with GP and non-GP chemotherapy (2-year progression-free survival [PFS]: 0.7% vs. 9.7%). We investigated survival outcomes of patients treated with GP PCT within 2 years after undergoing GP IC, treated with GP PCT 2 years after undergoing GP IC, and those of non-GP PCT patients (2-year PFS: 0.0%, 2.3%, 9.7%). However, there was no difference in the 2-year PFS between the patients that received GP PCT 2 years after undergoing GP IC and the non-GP PCT treated patients.

CONCLUSIONS

GP is not recommended for patients that have received GP IC within 2 years. Two years after undergoing GP IC, GP can be considered.