Late Sequelae of Childhood and Adolescent Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Survivors After Radiation Therapy

The objective of this study was to reveal the long-term sequelae in survivors of childhood and adolescent nasopharyngeal carcinoma after radiation therapy. We reviewed the medical records of patients aged 72 Gy, compared with a nasopharynx dose of 60 to 72 Gy, had a significantly higher CI of hearing loss (P = .008), lalopathy (P = .013), and cranial nerve injury (P = .029). We also had records of height, weight, education level, annual income, marital and fertility status, and menstruation state for 59 of the survivors. Twenty-two percent of the survivors had a body mass index lower than 18.5. Among the female survivors, 11 of 16 (62.5%) had menstrual or fertility problems. Compared with convention radiation therapy treatment, intensity modulated radiation therapy treatment can potentially ameliorate xerostomia, dysphagia, and chronic otitis media. In addition, patients younger than 10 years had a higher CI of blurred vision. Moreover, a dose of more than 72 Gy to primary tumor increased the CI of hearing loss, lalopathy, and cranial nerve injury.