Induction Chemotherapy Response-Guided Reduced-Dose Radiotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

August 26, 2026 updated by: Chaosu Hu, Fudan University

Induction Chemotherapy Response-Guided Reduced-Dose Radiotherapy for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Prospective Single-center Randomized Phase II Study

To evaluate whether the 2-year local failure-free survival (LRFFS) in Cohort 1 patients with AJCC/UICC 8th edition stage IB-II nasopharyngeal carcinoma who achieved EBV-DNA = 0 after induction chemotherapy and had MRI assessment of complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) ≥50% is non-inferior when treated with reduced-dose IMRT (59.4 Gy/27 fractions) compared to standard-dose IMRT (66.0 Gy/30 fractions).

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study focused on patients with AJCC/UICC 9th edition stage IB-II（The participants were required to have no extensive skull base invasion and lymph nodes < 4 cm before treatment）. It aimed to adaptively guide the reduction of radiation dose for nasopharyngeal carcinoma based on the response to induction chemotherapy, thereby minimizing radiation-related toxicity while ensuring local control. Cohort 1 was randomly assigned 1:1 to the 59.4 Gy/27 fractions group and the 66.0 Gy/30 fractions group and compared their LRFFS. The participants were required to have EBV-DNA = 0 and CR or PR > 50% after 2 courses of induction therapy. Those who did not meet the criteria were assigned to Cohort 2 to receive standard-dose radiotherapy combined with concurrent cisplatin to avoid excessive reduction of intensity for potentially high-risk patients.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

269

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • China
    • Shanghai Municipality
      • Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China, 200032

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age: 18 - 65 years old.
  • Pathologically confirmed nasopharyngeal carcinoma, WHO type II or III non-keratinizing cancer.
  • AJCC/UICC 9th edition stage IB-II untreated non-metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (T3 requires no extensive cranial base invasion and the invasion volume should be < 22 mL; N1-2 requires baseline lymph nodes < 4 cm).
  • Before treatment, plasma EBV-DNA needs to be tested and dynamic monitoring of EBV-DNA can be completed.
  • ECOG performance status 0 - 1 points.
  • Main organ functions meet the following requirements: neutrophils ≥ 1.5 × 10^9/L, platelets ≥ 100 × 10^9/L, hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L; ALT/AST ≤ 2.5 × ULN, total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN; creatinine clearance rate ≥ 60 mL/min.
  • Sign a written informed consent form and be willing to complete the treatment, follow-up and quality of life assessment according to the protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Metastasis to T4, N3 or distant sites; AJCC/UICC 9th edition stage III-IV.
  • Had received chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy before the diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and had a history of radiotherapy or surgery for head and neck tumors (except for diagnostic biopsies).
  • Pregnant or lactating; non-pregnant and non-lactating subjects who do not agree to take effective contraceptive measures.
  • Had severe and uncontrollable heart, lung, liver, kidney, neurological or mental diseases, and the investigator judged that they were not suitable for radical treatment or affected compliance.
  • Had a history of other malignant tumors within the past 5 years, except for the following situations: cured localized tumors, such as skin basal cell carcinoma, skin squamous cell carcinoma, superficial bladder cancer, prostate carcinoma in situ, cervical carcinoma in situ, breast carcinoma in situ, papillary thyroid carcinoma, etc.
  • Could not complete the imaging examinations, EBV-DNA tests, follow-up or quality of life assessment as required by the protocol.

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
Experimental: Experimental group
reduced dose group
Radiation: reduced dose group
59.4 Gy/27F
Active Comparator: Control group
standard dose group
Radiation: Standard Dose Group
66 Gy/30F
Other: Corhort 2
Other: concurrent chemoradiotherapy
66.0-70.4 Gy/30-32F + cisplatin 80 mg/m² q3w×2

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
2-year Locoregional Failure-Free Survival，2-y LRFFS
Time Frame: 2 year
The time from enrollment to the first local or regional failure or any cause of death is determined by the event that occurs first. For those who did not experience any of these events, they are censored at the last valid follow-up date.
2 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
2-year Failure-Free Survival，2-y FFS
Time Frame: 2 year
The time from enrollment to the first occurrence of local regional failure, distant metastasis, or death due to any cause is determined by the event that occurs first.
2 year
2-year Overall Survival，2-y OS
Time Frame: 2 year
The time from enrollment to any cause of death; for those who were still alive at the end of the follow-up, the data are censored at the date of the last confirmed survival.
2 year
2-year Distant Failure-Free Survival，2-y DFFS
Time Frame: 2 year
The time from enrollment to the first distant metastasis or any cause of death is determined by the event that occurs first.
2 year
Acute Adverse Events，acute AEs
Time Frame: up to 90 days after radiotherapy
The evaluation was conducted according to NCI-CTCAE v5.0 from the start of radiotherapy to 90 days after radiotherapy.
up to 90 days after radiotherapy
Late Adverse Events，late AEs
Time Frame: After 90 days of radiotherapy to the date of death，assessed up to 2 years or more.
After 90 days of radiotherapy, the evaluation was conducted according to CTCAE v5.0 and RTOG/EORTC standards for late radiation injury.
After 90 days of radiotherapy to the date of death，assessed up to 2 years or more.
Quality of Life，QoL (EORTC QLQ-H&N35）
Time Frame: baseline and up to one year
Changes in QoL of participants from baseline to up to 6 months after the completion of radiotherapy. QoL will be evaluated with the questionnaires of the head-and-neck-specific module (H&N35) of the Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 module (QLQ-C30). Higher scores mean a worse outcome.
baseline and up to one year

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Fudan University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Xiayun He, Fudan University

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 (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2031

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2031

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 23, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 26, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ADAPT-02

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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