A Chinese research team has proposed a new treatment strategy for low-risk nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, showing radiotherapy alone was not inferior to concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy, according to Sun Yat-sen University in south China's Guangdong Province.

In recent years, intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) has become the mainstream radiotherapy technology for this malignant tumor.  Scientists from the university's Cancer Center conducted a research to explore whether patients at intermediate stage still need to receive chemotherapy along with IMRT.

The center led a clinical trial with 341 low-risk nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients, the results of which showed that the survival results of patients receiving radiotherapy alone are similar to those receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy at the same time.

The patients that have received radiotherapy alone achieved a great reduction in toxic and side effects, and significantly improved their quality of life.

"At least 20 percent of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients are expected to benefit," said Ma Jun, executive vice president of the center.

The study was recently published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The country has a high rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, especially in southern provincial regions of Guangdong and Guangxi, and eastern province of Fujian.

（With input from Xinhua）