First-line gemcitabine-cisplatin versus fluorouracil-cisplatin for recurrent/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The multicenter study GEM20110714 in China randomized patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma to gemcitabine-cisplatin (GP) or fluorouracil-cisplatin (FP). The progression-free survival improvement with GP over FP has been published in 2016. Final analysis of the study showed that the median overall survival was 22.1 months with GP versus 18.6 months with FP (HR 0.72; p=0.004). The OS probabilities werd 79.9% versus 71.8% at one year, 31.0% versus 20.4% at three years, and 19.2% versus 7.8% at five years. The authors conclude that GP should be considered a preferred front-line option for these patients.