Concurrent Chemotherapy for the Intermediate Risk Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma In Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy Era

April 21, 2026 updated by: Lei Chen, Sun Yat-sen University

Prospective Non-inferior Clinical Trial Comparing Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy or Radiotherapy Alone in Patients With Intermediate Risk Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Intensity-modulated Radiotherapy Era

Currently, concurrent chemoradiotherapy with/without sequential chemotherapy is the standard treatment modality for intermediate risk NPC (stage II and T3N0M0) according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline. However these recommendations were based on the evidence in the two-dimensional conventional radiotherapy (2DCRT) era. The introduction of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in NPC treatment has brought substantial better treatment outcomes than 2DCRT. It has been questioned whether additional concurrent chemotherapy is still necessary for intermediate risk NPC within the excellent framework of IMRT. Thus, the investigators jointly conduct the first non-inferior randomized trial to determine the value of concurrent chemotherapy with cisplatin for intermediate risk NPC patients treated with IMRT. Given the results of clinical studies mentioned above,the investigators decide to adopt the concurrent regimen to be cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on day 1, 22, 43

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Currently, concurrent chemoradiotherapy with/without sequential chemotherapy is the standard treatment modality for intermediate risk NPC (stage II and T3N0M0) according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline. However these recommendations were based on the evidence in the two-dimensional conventional radiotherapy (2DCRT) era. The introduction of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) in NPC treatment has brought substantial better treatment outcomes than 2DCRT. It has been questioned whether additional concurrent chemotherapy is still necessary for intermediate risk NPC within the excellent framework of IMRT. Thus, the investigators jointly conduct the first non-inferior randomized trial to determine the value of concurrent chemotherapy with cisplatin for intermediate risk NPC patients treated with IMRT. Given the results of clinical studies mentioned above, the investigators decide to adopt the concurrent regimen to be cisplatin 100 mg/m2 on day 1, 22, 43

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

338

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Guangdong
      • Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, 510060
        • Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with newly histologically confirmed non-keratinizing (according to WHO histologically type.
  • Tumor staged as T1-2N1/T2-3N0(according to the 7th AJCC edition).
  • No evidence of distant metastasis (M0).
  • Satisfactory performance status: Karnofsky scale (KPS) ≥ 70.
  • Adequate marrow: leucocyte count ≥ 4000/μL, hemoglobin ≥ 120g/L for male, ≥ 120g/L for female , and platelet count ≥ 100000/μL.
  • Normal liver function test: Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) < 1.5×upper limit of normal (ULN) concomitant with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) ≤ 2.5×ULN, and bilirubin ≤ ULN.
  • Adequate renal function: creatinine clearance ≥ 60 ml/min.
  • Patients must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and give written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Neck lymph node with extracapsular spread. Maximal axial diameter of neck lymph node ≥30mm, positive neck lymph node at level IV and/or Vb.
  • Pretreatment plasma EBV DNA level ≥4000 copy/ml.
  • WHO Type keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma or basaloid squamous cell carcinoma.
  • Age > 65 or < 18.
  • Treatment with palliative intent.
  • Prior malignancy except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer.
  • Pregnancy or lactation (consider pregnancy test in women of child-bearing age and emphasize effective contraception during the treatment period).
  • History of previous RT (except for non-melanomatous skin cancers outside intended RT treatment volume).
  • Prior chemotherapy or surgery (except diagnostic) to primary tumor or nodes.
  • Any severe intercurrent disease, which may bring unacceptable risk or affect the compliance of the trial, for example, unstable cardiac disease requiring treatment, renal disease, chronic hepatitis, diabetes with poor control (fasting plasma glucose > 1.5×ULN), and emotional disturbance

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: CCRT group
IMRT and concurrent cisplatin Patients receive intensity modulated-radiotherapy (IMRT), concurrently with cisplatin 100 mg/m² every 3 weeks for 3 cycles
Drug: Cisplatin
concurrently with cisplatin 100 mg/m² every 3 weeks for 3 cycles during IMRT
Other Names:
  • Concurrent cisplatin regimen
Radiation: IMRT
Intensity modulated-radiotherapy (IMRT) is given as 2.0-2.20 Gy per fraction with five daily fractions per week for 6-7 weeks to a total dose of 66 Gy or greater to the primary tumor
Other Names:
  • Intensity-modulated radiation therapy
Experimental: RT group
intensity modulated-radiotherapy (IMRT) alone: Patients receive intensity modulated-radiotherapy (IMRT) alone
Radiation: IMRT
Intensity modulated-radiotherapy (IMRT) is given as 2.0-2.20 Gy per fraction with five daily fractions per week for 6-7 weeks to a total dose of 66 Gy or greater to the primary tumor
Other Names:
  • Intensity-modulated radiation therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Failure-free survival
Time Frame: 3 Year
The failure-free survival rate will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method for each arm from the date of randomization to the date of treatment failure or death from any cause, whichever is first. Their differences will be compared between treatment arms using the log-rank test.
3 Year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall survival
Time Frame: 3 Year
The overall survival rate will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method for each arm from randomization to death from any cause. Their differences will be compared between treatment arms using the log-rank test.
3 Year
Locoregional failure-free survival
Time Frame: 3 Year
The locoregional failure-free survival will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method for each arm from randomization to the first locoregional failure. Their differences will be compared between treatment arms using the log-rank test.
3 Year
Distant failure-free survival
Time Frame: 3 Year
The distant failure-free survival will be estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method for each arm from randomization to the first remote failure. Their differences will be compared between treatment arms using the log-rank test.
3 Year
Rates of participants with adverse events
Time Frame: 3 Year
Acute and late toxicities will be documented according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 3.0 and/or the Radiation Morbidity Scoring Criteria of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Rates of the toxicities will be estimated using a binomial distribution along and will be compared using Fisher's exact test between the 2 treatment arms.
3 Year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sun Yat-sen University

Collaborators

Guilin Medical University, China
Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University
First People's Hospital of Foshan

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Lei Chen, M.D., Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 4, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

October 11, 2021

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 3, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 14, 2015

First Posted (Estimated)

December 17, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 21, 2026

Last Verified

December 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • IRNPC15

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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