Abstract:

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine combined with vinorelbine(GV) in the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC). Methods Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed for 41 patients with metastatic NPC who received second-line therapy at Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Guangxi Medical University  from January 2010 to March 2016. The prognostic factors were analyzed by multivariate Cox regression. Results A total of 41 patients with metastasis NPC completed 146 cycles of GV chemotherapy,the median number of cycles was 4 cycles, and the total efficacy rate was 42.9%, the disease control rate was 85.8%. The median progression free survival was 6.0 months(95%CI:4.4-7.6), and median overall survival was 16.4 months (95%CI: 8.8-24.0). Myelosuppression was the major adverse reaction and could be tolerated. Multivariate analysis showed that the cycles of GV chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor(HR=2.660,95%CI:1.044-6.781,P=0.040). Conclusions Gemcitabine combined with vinorelbine is an effective ragmen for treating patients with  metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma,especially for those who have failed to platinum-based chemotherapy, and patients with more than 4 cycles of GV chemotherapy indicates better prognosis.

Key words: Nasopharyngeal neoplasms, Metastatic, Second line therapy, Gemcitabine, Vinorelbine, Efficacy, Prognosis