Weight Loss in Nasopharyngeal Cancer is Mainly Associated with Pre-Treatment Dental Extraction, a European Single-Center Experience

Background: The treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) consists of radiotherapy alone (stage I) or radiotherapy concomitant with chemotherapy (stage II-V). Acute side effects management forms a major challenge for practitioners. Substantial literature is available from endemic areas, whereas data from Europe is scarce. This study examines clinical characteristics, therapeutic results, acute and late side effects of patients treated at the Jules Bordet Institute. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two consecutive non-metastatic NPC patients treated between May 2012 and September 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated by Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) with or without chemotherapy (CT). Results: Thirteen patients have North-African ancestry while nine are of European origin. Seventy-three percent had a non-keratinizing carcinoma and 90% had an advanced stage disease (III-IVb). Ninety-five percent of the patients received concomitant CT. After a median follow-up time of 31 months, overall survival was 77%. Local, regional and distant control rates were 95%, 86% and 73%. Main acute grade 3 toxicities were swallowing disorders (91%), vomiting (82%), oropharyngeal mucositis (64%) and dermatitis (23%). Only one patient developed grade 4 dermatitis, requiring treatment discontinuation in the sixth week. In the seventh week of treatment, 86% of the patients had lost more than 10% of their starting weight. Univariate analysis identified three factors driving the weight loss: grade 3 mucositis of the soft palate (p=0.027), vomiting (p=0.019) and pre-treatment dental extraction (p=0.006). In multivariate analysis, weight loss is only linked to dental extraction (p=0.042, Odds Ratio 1.62, [95% CI: 1.16-2.80]). Late toxicities were xerostomia (68%), auditory symptoms (55%), hypothyroidism (45%) and swallowing disorders (23%). Conclusion: Our clinical characteristics outcome and toxicity are comparable to published data from endemic regions. Interestingly, weight loss of >10% is correlated to pre-treatment dental extraction. This finding should be confirmed and analyzed in a prospective manner.