Comparison of continuous and split-course radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract From July 1977 through December 1980, a series of 1882 cases with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) had their first definitive radiotherapy course at our department, 1424 cases by continuous treatment regimen, and 458 cases by a split-course regimen. The interval of the split was 11–45 days, with an average of 28.6 days. Trials were nonrandomized, but the treatment conditions for both groups were the same. The overall 5-year survival rate was 34.6%, 35.4% for the continuous group and 31.8% for the split-course group. The 5-year survival rate for Stage IV patients (squamous cell carcinoma Grade III) was 25.7% (69268) for the continuous group and 14.1% (1071) for the split-course group. Breaking down the cases by primary and cervical metastatic sites, for T3 cases, the 5-year local control rate for the primary site was 29.4% (133451) for the continuous group, and 18.6% (22118) for the split-course group. These differences are statistically significant ( p