A Meta Analysis Of The Survival Rate Of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma In Children And Juveniles

Objective: To systematically review and carry a meta analysis the published data about the treatment and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in children and juveniles.Methods: To search all relevant article on nasopharyngeal carcinoma in children and juveniles in Pubmed and Cochrane from their foundation to November,2017,and the relevant articles and their references were also retrospectively reviewed as well.We screened the articles according to the predefined inclusive and exclusive criteria,and then extracted necessary data and evaluated quality of the included studies.Then meta-analyses of 5-year disease-free survival(DFS)and overall survival(OS)in children and juveniles with nasopharyngeal carcinoma were performed using R software.Results: A total of the 15 studies involving 900 patients(5-20 years old)were finally included,in which males took up about 68%.According to the American Joint Committee for Cancer Staging system,these tumors were differenciated into Stage I(0.4%),II(10.3%),III(32.2%),and IV(58%).While according to the criteria of World Health Organization(WHO),NPC were classified into three subtypes of Type I(1.4%),Type II(6.8%),and Type III(88.4%).All included patients received radiotherapy,and 598 of them(66.4%)received chemotherapy(including adjuvant chemotherapy,neoadjuvant chemotherapy).The meta-analysis showed that the 5-year disease-free survival rate was 65.64% with a 95% CI of 58.50-73.64%,and the overall survival rate was 67.96% with a 95% CI of 60.46-76.40%.Sensitivity analysis indicated that these results were stable.Conclusion: The reported data showed a significant heterogeneity.Radiotherapy was conducted for all patients,while chemotherapy was also performed in 66% subjects.A 5-year survival rate was around 65%.Clinical researches of higher level are still necessary,in order to establish a better protocol for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma for the youngers.