S9715, Study of Patients With Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancers Treated With Chemo-Radiotherapy, Phase II

OBJECTIVES: I. Gather additional information and experience regarding the preferred treatment from clinical trial SWOG-8892, chemoradiation for patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancers (NPC). II. Evaluate survival and progression-free survival and patterns of tumor failure in this new group of patients. III. Assess severe or lethal toxicities that may be encountered after this regimen is employed more widely. IV. Collect NPC tumor specimens for ongoing and future clinical correlative research.

OUTLINE: Patients receive cisplatin by intravenous infusion on day 1 over a 15-20 minute period. This is repeated every 21 days for the first three initial treatments. Patients also receive radiation therapy once daily five times a week during this cycle of treatment. Approximately three weeks after completion of the above treatment, patients are given cisplatin by intravenous infusion over 15-20 minutes as above but at a lower dose. On the same day as cisplatin infusion, patients receive fluorouracil by continuous intravenous infusion over 24 hours for 4 days in a row. This is repeated every 28 days for a total of 3 treatments. Patients are followed until death.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: 100 patients will be accrued.