Individualized Treatment in Treating Patients With Stage II-IVB Nasopharyngeal Cancer Based on EBV DNA
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2026-07-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
There are two study questions we are asking in this randomized phase II/III trial based on a
blood biomarker, Epstein Barr virus (EBV) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for locoregionally
advanced non-metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer. All patients will first undergo standard
concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. When this standard treatment is completed, if
there is no detectable EBV DNA in their plasma, then patients are randomized to either
standard adjuvant cisplatin and fluorouracil chemotherapy or observation. If there is still
detectable levels of plasma EBV DNA, patients will be randomized to standard cisplatin and
fluorouracil chemotherapy versus gemcitabine and paclitaxel. Radiation therapy uses high
energy x rays to kill tumor cells. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cisplatin,
fluorouracil, gemcitabine hydrochloride, and paclitaxel work in different ways to stop the
growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by
stopping them from spreading. It is not yet known whether giving cisplatin and fluorouracil
is more effective than gemcitabine hydrochloride and paclitaxel after radiation therapy in
treating patients with nasopharyngeal cancer.