Is primary tumor volume still a prognostic factor in intensity modulated radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma?

Diffusion-Weighted Imaging of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Can Pretreatment DWI Predict Local Failure Based on Long-Term Outcome?

“…[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] This finding was also a trend in this study but did not reach significance, possibly because the mean volume of our primary tumors (24.6 mL) was in the lower range of previously reported cutoff thresholds, which have ranged from 13 to 60 mL. [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] In addition, the T-stage was not significant. This finding is possibly explained by the better treatment outcomes as a result of intensity-modulated radiation therapy 36 and also the wide use of MR imaging for staging, which can lead to upstaging to T3 disease as a result of greater sensitivity to bone invasion compared with CT. 37 Histologic NPC subtype also has a major influence on treatment outcome, whereby the undifferentiated form of NPC has a better prognosis than the other subtypes.…”

The value of the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) in predicting outcomes and guiding the treatment strategy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients receiving intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy

“…Therefore, it is important to identify other prognostic factors to improve the ability of the TNM staging system to predict prognosis. In recent years, there have been several published reports focusing on the correlation between the prognosis of NPC patients treated with IMRT and tumour-or host-related factors, such as the primary tumour volume (GTV-P) (Guo et al 2012;Chen et al 2011), the maximum standardized uptake value of the primary tumour (SUVmax-P), which is tested by 18 F-FDG PET/CT , weight loss during treatment (Qiu et al 2011), baseline serum LDH levels Zhou et al 2012), and the albumin-globulin ratio before treatment (pretreatment AGR) . The results of those studies indicated that advanced large GTV-P (Guo et al 2012;Chen et al 2011), high SUVmax-P , high weight loss during treatment (Qiu et al 2011), high baseline serum LDH levels Zhou et al 2012) and lower pretreatment AGR all are predictors of a poor prognosis and could be used to facilitate treatment options when combined with the TNM staging system.…”

Plan Dose Evaluation of Three Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy Planning (3D-CRT) of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC): Experience of a Tertiary Care University Hospital in Pakistan

“…Importance of tumor volume has been established in others head and neck cancer but its role in nasopharyngeal cancer is not cleared although studies have shown a direct relationship between tumor volume and outcome (Guo et al, 2012). According to studies tumor volume indicated the number of tumor clonogens that should be removed.…”