Cancer of the nasopharynx.Review of 43 cases treated with supervoltage radiation therapy

Forty-three cases of cancer of the nasopharynx treated at the Yale-New Haven Hospital in the last 15 years were analyzed. The clinical aspects of the disease, the technique of therapy and results of treatment are presented. The five-year cumulative survival in all the cases treated was 27%. Patients with lymphoepitheliomas seem to do better than those with squamous cell carcinoma. Even in patients with advanced disease, a cure is still possible after radical radiation treatment. Retreatment of recurrent disease is frequently successful in these tumors. The complications after curative radiotherapy even with the use of supervoltage are still relatively frequent. The incidence of distant metastases was 29%.