The sensitization effect of combining tegafur with radiotherapy for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma is better than that of cisplatin

Tegafur is a derivative of fluorouracil. It is activated by the liver and gradually converted into fluorouracil in the body to play an anti-tumor role. It interferes with and blocks the synthesis of DNA, RNA and protein in the body. It is an anti-pyrimidine drug and a cell cycle-specific drug. Its chemotherapy index is twice that of fluorouracil, and its toxicity is only 1/4 to 1/7 of that of fluorouracil. In the experiment, it was proved that the sensitization effect of radiotherapy combined with tegafur is better than that of cisplatin, and the adverse reactions are significantly lighter and well tolerated by patients.

Objective: To observe the sensitizing effect of tegafur during radiotherapy for patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Methods: 164 patients with stage III and IVa NPC were randomly divided into tegafur plus radiotherapy group (n=80) and cisplatin plus radiotherapy group (n=84). Both groups received linear accelerator 6MVX-ray radiotherapy, conventional fractionation, nasopharyngeal dose 65-78Gy, neck dose 60-72Gy, and residual lesions plus 10Gy. Tegafur group received 500mg tegafur intravenous drip once a week for 4 weeks while radiotherapy; cisplatin group received 30mg cisplatin rapid intravenous drip once a week for 4 weeks.

Results: The 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 90%, 76.7%, and 60% in the tegafur group, and 80%, 66.7%, and 47.6% in the cisplatin group, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P

The efficacy of radiotherapy combined with tegafur sensitization is better than cisplatin, and the adverse reactions are significantly milder and well tolerated by patients.