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Objective: To evaluate how the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiation therapy (RT) affects outcomes for Asian American patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: Using the California Cancer Registry – a population‐based, state‐sponsored database – Asian American patients with newly‐diagnosed, locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma diagnosed between 1998 and 2010 were identified. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to analyze overall survival and cancer‐specific survival. Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to investigate the association with chemotherapy. Propensity score methods were used to control for measure confounders. Results: A total of 812 Asian Americans were included; 91 (11.2%) underwent RT alone, and 721 (88.8%) underwent RT with chemotherapy. The overall survival at 5 years was 65% with RT alone versus 72% with RT plus chemotherapy (p = 0.31). The corresponding rates of cancer‐specific survival were 70% and 78% (p = 0.35). Cox regression analysis confirmed a trend toward reduced mortality (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.62–1.25, p = 0.37) in patients receiving RT and chemotherapy. Conclusion: Consistent with other studies that have been published, the addition of chemotherapy to RT was associated with improved clinical outcomes. Although this improvement did not reach statistical significance, the use of concurrent chemoradiation seems reasonable for Asian Americans with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has been historically low in the United States. Although etiological factors differ by histological subtype, Epstein-Barr virus is accepted as the primary risk factor for nonkeratinizing NPC. In light of the changing epidemiology of viral-associated cancers, it is important to evaluate the temporal incidence of NPC in the United States.Methods: Incidence and survival data from 1973 through 2015 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. Stratified analyses were conducted to assess temporal trends in NPC by histological subtype, sex, and race. The data were analyzed using SAS and Joinpoint Regression Software to determine age-adjusted incidence rates, determine trends in the annual percent change, and calculate 5-year relative survival estimates and Kaplan-Meier curves.Results: Although overall NPC incidence is decreasing in the United States, the nonkeratinizing differentiated subtype is starkly increasing, with an annual percent change of approximately 4% among white males (95% CI, 2.5%-5.2%), white females (95% CI, 1.9%-6.2%), and black males (95% CI, 2.0%, 5.7%); 2.7% among black females (95% CI, 0.8%, 4.6%); and 1.8% among women in the "other" race category (95% CI, 0.4%-3.3%). Racial disparities were noted, with 32% of nonkeratinizing NPC cases among blacks occurring before the age of 40 years. In addition, black males displayed consistently worse survival across all histological subtypes, whereas individuals in the "other" race category, particularly females, experienced the highest 5-year relative survival estimates.Conclusions: The current results indicate that the Epstein-Barr virus-related, differentiated NPC subtype is increasing across all sexes and races in the United States, with distinct incidence and survival disparities among blacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]