Could adding extra chemo before standard therapy beat nasopharyngeal cancer?
NCT ID NCT05979961
First seen Aug 12, 2026 · Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial is testing whether giving an extra round of chemotherapy before the usual chemoradiotherapy can improve outcomes for people with a certain type of nasopharyngeal cancer. Participants will either receive standard chemoradiotherapy alone or induction chemotherapy (gemcitabine and cisplatin) followed by the same chemoradiotherapy. The study aims to see if the added chemo helps delay cancer progression or relapse.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- gemcitabine and cisplatin (induction chemotherapy) plus concurrent chemoradiotherapy (IMRT and cisplatin)
- What this could lead to
- If adding induction chemotherapy before standard chemoradiotherapy improves progression-free survival, it could become a new standard for low-risk nasopharyngeal carcinoma, potentially reducing recurrence and improving outcomes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase 3 trial, but results are not yet known. Adding chemotherapy may increase side effects without improving survival, and the benefit may not apply to all patients.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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464 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2023
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18-70 years old. 2. Patients with newly histologically confirmed non-keratinizing (according to WHO histologically type). 3. Tumor staged as III-IVa except T4N2/AnyTN3 (according to the 8th AJCC edition) and pretreatment plasm EB Virus DNA\<4000copies/ml. 4. ECOG Performance status less or equal to 1. 5. Male and no pregnant female. 6. Adequate marrow: leucocyte count ≥ 4000/μL, hemoglobin ≥ 90g/L and platelet count ≥ 100000/μL. 7. Normal liver function test: Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) \< 1.5×upper limit of normal (ULN) concomitant with alkaline phosphatase (ALP) \< 2.5×ULN, and bilirubin \< ULN. 8. Adequate renal function: creatinine clearance ≥ 60 ml/min. 9. Patients must be informed of the investigational nature of this study and give written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients have evidence of relapse or distant metastasis. 2. WHO Type keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma or basaloid squamous cell carcinoma. 3. Treatment with palliative intent. 4. History of previous RT (except for non-melanomatous skin cancers outside intended RT treatment volume). 5. Prior chemotherapy or surgery (except diagnostic) to primary tumor or nodes. 6. Pregnancy or lactation (consider pregnancy test in women of child-bearing age and emphasize effective contraception during the treatment period). 7. Prior malignancy except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, in situ cervical cancer. 8. Any severe intercurrent disease, which may bring unacceptable risk or affect the compliance of the trial, for example, unstable cardiac disease requiring treatment, renal disease, chronic hepatitis, diabetes with poor control (fasting plasma glucose \> 1.5×ULN), and emotional disturbance.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Cancer Hospital of Guizhou Province
Guiyang, Guizhou, China
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Guangzhou Panyu Central Hospital
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Hunan Cancer Hospital
Changsha, Hunan, China
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Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University
Nanning, Guangxi, 530021, China
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Tongji Hospital,Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Wuhan, Hubei, China
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Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology;
Wuhan, Hubei, China
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Zhongshan City People's Hospital
Zhongshan, Guangdong, 528499, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can zapping liver and lung tumors boost treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer?
- Can a targeted drug outperform chemotherapy in Tough-to-Treat nasopharyngeal cancer?
- Can an experimental drug shrink advanced solid tumors?
- Can a targeted therapy replace harsh chemo in nasopharyngeal cancer?
- Smart T-Cell engager aims to outsmart tumors in first human test
- Immunotherapy combo shows promise in shrinking Hard-to-Treat head and neck tumors