Platinum-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the standard of care for patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Additional gemcitabine and cisplatin induction chemotherapy has shown promising efficacy in phase 2 trials. In a parallel-group, multicenter, randomized, controlled, phase 3 trial, we compared gemcitabine and cisplatin as induction chemotherapy plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy with concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone. Patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive gemcitabine (at a dose of 1 g per square meter of body-surface area on days 1 and 8) plus cisplatin (80 mg per square meter on day 1), administered every 3 weeks for three cycles, plus chemoradiotherapy (concurrent cisplatin at a dose of 100 mg per square meter every 3 weeks for three cycles plus intensity-modulated radiotherapy) or chemoradiotherapy alone. The primary end point was recurrence-free survival (i.e., freedom from disease recurrence [distant metastasis or locoregional recurrence] or death from any cause) in the intention-to-treat population. Secondary end points included overall survival, treatment adherence, and safety. A total of 480 patients were included in the trial (242 patients in the induction chemotherapy group and 238 in the standard-therapy group). At a median follow-up of 42.7 months, the 3-year recurrence-free survival was 85.3% in the induction chemotherapy group and 76.5% in the standard-therapy group (stratified hazard ratio for recurrence or death, 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.34 to 0.77; P=0.001). Overall survival at 3 years was 94.6% and 90.3%, respectively (stratified hazard ratio for death, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.24 to 0.77). A total of 96.7% of the patients completed three cycles of induction chemotherapy. The incidence of acute adverse events of grade 3 or 4 was 75.7% in the induction chemotherapy group and 55.7% in the standard-therapy group, with a higher incidence of neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, nausea, and vomiting in the induction chemotherapy group. The incidence of grade 3 or 4 late toxic effects was 9.2% in the induction chemotherapy group and 11.4% in the standard-therapy group. Induction chemotherapy added to chemoradiotherapy significantly improved recurrence-free survival and overall survival, as compared with chemoradiotherapy alone, among patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. (Funded by the Innovation Team Development Plan of the Ministry of Education and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01872962.)

In December 2019, an outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei, which has been linked to the severe adult respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is characterized by rapid human-to-human transmission from droplet contamination.^1,2 A report of 138 hospitalized patients from a single institution (Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University) indicated that hospital-acquired transmission accounted for 41.3% of these admitted patients, thus implicating the hospital environment as a source of spread of the virus.³ Patients with cancer are often recalled to the hospital for treatment and monitoring, and hence, they may be at risk of contracting COVID-19. Moreover, cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are immunosuppressive. Here, we report the incidence and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cancer patients who were treated at a tertiary cancer institution in Wuhan.

PURPOSE: The aim of this joint guideline is to provide evidence-based recommendations to practicing physicians and other healthcare providers on definitive-intent chemoradiotherapy for patients with stage II-IVA nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: The Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) and ASCO convened an expert panel of radiation oncology, medical oncology, surgery, and advocacy representatives. The literature search included systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomized controlled trials published from 1990 through 2020. Outcomes of interest included survival, distant and locoregional disease control, and quality of life. Expert panel members used this evidence and informal consensus to develop evidence-based guideline recommendations. RESULTS: The literature search identified 108 relevant studies to inform the evidence base for this guideline. Five overarching clinical questions were addressed, which included subquestions on radiotherapy (RT), chemotherapy sequence, and concurrent, induction, and adjuvant chemotherapy options. RECOMMENDATIONS: Evidence-based recommendations were developed to address aspects of care related to chemotherapy in combination with RT for the definitive-intent treatment of stage II to IVA NPC. Additional information is available at www.asco.org/head-neck-cancer-guidelines .

An artificial intelligence–based contouring tool improved tumor target contouring accuracy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which could have a positive impact on tumor control and patient survival. BackgroundNasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) may be cured with radiation therapy. Tumor proximity to critical structures demands accuracy in tumor delineation to avoid toxicities from radiation therapy; however, tumor target contouring for head and neck radiation therapy is labor intensive and highly variable among radiation oncologists.PurposeTo construct and validate an artificial intelligence (AI) contouring tool to automate primary gross tumor volume (GTV) contouring in patients with NPC.Materials and MethodsIn this retrospective study, MRI data sets covering the nasopharynx from 1021 patients (median age, 47 years; 751 male, 270 female) with NPC between September 2016 and September 2017 were collected and divided into training, validation, and testing cohorts of 715, 103, and 203 patients, respectively. GTV contours were delineated for 1021 patients and were defined by consensus of two experts. A three-dimensional convolutional neural network was applied to 818 training and validation MRI data sets to co...

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has a high prevalence in Southeastern Asia, with age-standardized rates of 22.2 to 27.2 per 100 000 male patients.^1,2 Incidences of synchronous distant metastasis in endemic NPC range from 6% to 8% at the time of presentation.^3,4 In these patients, gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) doublet chemotherapy is the standard of care (SOC) as first-line treatment.⁵ Response rates and overall survival (OS) were superior with GP compared with fluorouracil and cisplatin (PF). Median OS of de novo metastatic NPC (mNPC) is approximately 29.1 months with GP.