A Case of Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma That Was Effectively Treated with Gemcitabine and Cisplatin Induction Chemotherapy

For case of locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the benefit of induction chemotherapy prior to concurrent chemoradiotherapy has been reported. In Japan, cisplatin, fluorouracil, plus docetaxel (TPF) is commonly used for induction chemotherapy in patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, but adverse effects such as leukopenia are often a problem. Gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) is the standard for induction chemotherapy overseas. However, gemcitabine is not covered by insurance in Japan for head and neck cancer, in spite of its effectiveness. We report the case of a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma who was treated with GP under self-paid medical treatment and showed good results of treatment.