Abstract:Objective To explore whether chemotherapy can improve the survival rate of patients with stage II nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and provide a reference for the choice of treatment methods for early nasopharyngeal carcinoma by comparing the survival benefit of three kinds of treatment methods: intensity-modulated radiotherapy alone (IMRT), concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and concurrent chemoradiotherapy combined with adjuvant chemotherapy (CCRT+AC) for stage Ⅱ nasopharyngeal carcinoma Methods The clinical data of 122 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with tumor in Xiangya Hospital from October 2009 to October 2013 were analyzed retrospectively (T1-2N1M0, T2N0M0, eighth edition of AJCC/UICC nasopharyngeal carcinoma staging standard). There were 39 patients in the IMRT group, 38 patients in the CCRT group, and 45 patients in the CCRT+AC group. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS), no local recurrence survival (LRFS), no distant metastasis survival (DMFS), and disease-free survival (DFS). The secondary endpoint was toxicities. Results There was no significant difference in 5-year OS, LRFS, DMFS and DFS among the IMRT group, CCRT group and CCRT+AC group (P > 0.05). However, the side effects (bone marrow suppression, gastrointestinal reaction) in the CCRT group and the CCRT+AC group were more serious than those in the IMRT group alone (P < 0.05). Conclusions On the basis of IMRT combined with chemotherapy failed to improve prognosis of stage Ⅱ nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, it increases adverse reaction.