To explore the role of induction chemotherapy (IC) followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) and CCRT plus adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LANPC).
The propensity score-matched (PSM) method was adopted to balance variables. We identified independent prognostic factors using Cox regression analysis and compared outcomes between two chemotherapy treatment combinations for patients in different subgroups.
A total of 550 patients were selected by one-to-two PSM. Survival outcomes for the matched data set indicated that the IC + CCRT group achieved higher 5-year overall survival (OS; 89.3% vs 85.3%, P = 0.119), failure-free survival (FFS; 80.2% vs 79.0%, P = 0.722) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS; 87.4% vs 84.4%, P = 0.322) compared with CCRT + AC, although this was statistically non-significant. Subgroup analysis revealed that IC + CCRT was associated with significantly improved OS (Hazard ratio [HR] = 2.68, 95% Confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-6.22, P = 0.017), FFS (HR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.06-3.57, P = 0.029) and locoregional relapse-free survival (LRRFS; HR = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.04-6.68, P = 0.034) in T3 disease. Moreover, this combination of treatment could significantly prolong OS (HR = 3.72, 95% CI = 1.41-9.80, P = 0.004) in N2 disease. However, the superiority of CCRT + AC was only observed in LRRFS (HR = 0.18, 95% CI 0.04-0.79, P = 0.010) for the T4 subgroup.
IC + CCRT should be strongly considered by patients with LANPC, especially those with T3 or N2 disease.

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