Observational studyBMC cancer2026
Intensity-modulated radiotherapy alone versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy ± induction chemotherapy in older patients with low-risk stage II or T3N0M0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Observational study in BMC cancer, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe optimal treatment strategy for older patients with low-risk stage II or T3N0M0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains undefined. This multicenter retrospective study compared the long-term outcomes and toxicities of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) alone versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy with or without induction chemotherapy (CCRT ± IC) in this population, and explored the underlying tumor microenvironment (TME) characteristics.
methodsA total of 1,265 older patients aged ≥ 60 years with low-risk NPC, defined as stage II or T3N0M0 disease without adverse features including lymph node diameter ≥ 3 cm, extranodal extension, or EBV DNA ≥ 4000 copies/mL, were enrolled from three centers between 2010 and 2022. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance baseline characteristics between treatment groups. Survival outcomes and toxicities were compared. Additionally, a deep learning-based Hover-Net model was applied to analyze immune cell infiltration in hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections from a subset of patients to investigate TME differences between risk groups.
resultsAfter PSM, IMRT alone demonstrated comparable survival outcomes to CCRT ± IC across all cohorts. In the training cohort, the 5-year cancer-specific survival rate was 91.4% in both groups (HR 1.07; P = 0.87), with consistent findings for progression-free survival, locoregional relapse-free survival, and distant metastasis-free survival. These results were validated in two external cohorts. However, CCRT ± IC led to significantly higher acute grade 3/4 hematologic and gastrointestinal toxicities. Hover-Net analysis revealed that the low-risk group exhibited significantly higher lymphocyte infiltration in the TME compared with the high-risk group (P < 0.05), suggesting a potential biological basis for the favorable outcomes observed with IMRT alone.
conclusionsFor older patients with low-risk stage II or T3N0M0 NPC, IMRT alone achieves survival outcomes equivalent to CCRT ± IC with significantly fewer acute toxicities. The enriched lymphocyte infiltration in the low-risk TME provides a biological rationale for this chemotherapy-sparing approach, supporting IMRT alone as a preferred toxicity-de-escalation strategy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.