Concurrent weekly carboplatin and radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: report of a joint phase II study

We report a phase I/II study of weekly concurrent carboplatin and radiotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (MO stage). Of 47 patients registered, 45 completed the treatment course. Twenty-six (55%) (95% CI, 41-69%) patients experienced greater than or equal to grade 3 acute toxicity (RTOG). Five (11%) (95% CI, 2-20%) patients experienced greater than or equal to grade 3 chronic toxicity. This regimen appears to have acceptable toxicity compared to the experimental arm of Phase III Intergroup Study 0099, but progression-free and overall survival are probably inferior. At present, there is no data to suggest that carboplatin can replace cisplatin for concurrent chemoradiation for NPC. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd, All rights reserved.