Assessment of Nasopharyngeal Cancer in Young Patients Aged ≤ 30 Years

Abstract

Purpose: This study assessed the prognosis of young patients with nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC), both domestic and foreign, using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database, a population-based database, and departmental records.Methods: Patients diagnosed with NPC from 2004 to 2016 in the SEER database were reviewed. Young patients aged ≤30 years when diagnosed, were compared with older patients. The medical records of patients with NPC aged ≤30 years in our own department were also reviewed. The prognostic effects of different variables, including age, sex, race, tumor stage, pathology, radiation, and chemotherapy were assessed by Kaplan–Meier and Cox analyses.Results: A total of 212 foreign and 257 domestic patients, with mean ages of 21.5 and 22.9 years and median ages of 22 and 24 years, respectively, were included. In SEER database, younger NPC patients had a more advanced tumor stage (74.5% stage III/IV vs. 63.1% in older patients) and a worse pathological differentiation, but a better prognosis (P < 0.0001). Interestingly, the younger the patient, the better the prognosis. Younger patients received a higher proportion of chemotherapy. M stage, overall stage and radiation were the primary prognostic factors. Similar and more comprehensive results were found in our center. Patients with distant metastases, at a primary visit, had worse diagnoses. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy and three-dimensional conventional radiotherapy had minimal effects on survival in young patients in our center. Most patients from our department received chemotherapy, and different induction chemotherapy regimens resulted in similar survival prognoses.Conclusions: Young patients with NPC usually present at an advanced stage, but have a better overall prognosis. How to treat patients with metastasis is critical for improving prognoses in young NPC patients.

Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine Therapy on Overall and Cancer Related Mortality in Patients With Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Taiwan

“…NPC patients in Taiwan were characterized by more males, and 80% of them were under 60 years old in another study ( Song et al, 2019 ). The 5-years overall mortality for NPC patients was approximately 30% in our study, which is in agreement with previous studies ( Ji et al, 2019 ; Zhu et al, 2019 ). We found that the 5-years overall mortality for patients with NPC was about 25% when patients used CHM.…”

Pathological features of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A single-center study in Vietnam

“…NPCs are primary tumors in adult patients with a peak prevalence between the ages of 40 and 60, although this type of cancer can also occur in children 10,11) . The predominant male-to-female ratio is about 3/1, irrespec- Other carcinoma (n = 10) 0 0 tive of geographic location 12) .…”

Combination of Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor Blockers and CDK4/6 Inhibitor for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Treatment

“…Compared with patients with NPC aged >30 years, those aged ≤ 30 years have been reported to have a more advanced stage and poor pathologic differentiation in initial diagnosis but more favorable outcomes, possibly due to tolerance to more aggressive chemotherapy and better family and financial support [7,34]. After intensity modulation radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment, juvenile patients exhibited better outcomes but more severe cytotoxicity than did adults [35].…”

“…Individual genetic susceptibility, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, and dietary or chemical carcinogens are the main etiological factors contributing to NPC pathogenesis [2][3][4][5]. The majority of patients with NPC are aged between 40 and 60 years, and NPC has been rarely diagnosed in patients aged below 30 years and above 70 years [6,7]. Adolescents and young adults with cancer are likely to have poor outcomes because of the molecularly distinct tumor signature, predisposition to genetic mutations, and severe clinical manifestations [8,9].…”