Chinese scientists have developed a new treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma that helps patients live longer and have a better quality of life compared with traditional therapies that often cause severe side effects.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a type of cancer that originates in the nasopharynx, which is the upper part of the throat behind the nose.

Ma Jun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said Chinese oncologists have taken the lead in establishing a new immunotherapy-based regimen combined with chemoradiotherapy, eliminating the need for concurrent cisplatin in treating locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The new approach has shown improved treatment outcomes for patients.

The therapy significantly reduces toxic side effects and complications, leading to better overall health, physical condition and emotional well-being, Ma said. He described the research as a breakthrough in China's approach to diagnosing and treating nasopharyngeal carcinoma, shifting the focus from "survival preservation "to "optimal survival".

Radiotherapy is traditionally the primary treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with chemoradiotherapy using concurrent cisplatin being the standard. However, cisplatin is known to cause serious hematological and gastrointestinal toxicity. When used alongside radiotherapy, it can result in severe oral mucosal inflammation, weight loss and long-term complications such as hearing loss and kidney damage, significantly affecting patients' quality of life.

The research was published in the oncology journal Cancer Cell in late February.

Ma, who is also executive president of the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and the head of the research team, said the new treatment is expected to shape global clinical practices in the coming years. His center is the world's largest treatment facility for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, handling more than 7,000 cases annually. It ranks first globally in nasopharyngeal carcinoma academic research, according to European institution Experimentscape.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is highly prevalent in China, accounting for 47 percent of the world's new cases, Ma said.

In the study, Ma's team treated 152 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma using a combination of induction chemotherapy, simple radiotherapy and 12 courses of nivolumab. The treatment was administered in three stages: induction chemotherapy, simple radiotherapy and adjuvant radiotherapy.

Results showed that 88.5 percent of patients achieved three-year failure-free survival, 10.5 percentage points higher than historical data for induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The new therapy also reduced the incidence of severe acute toxicity to 40.2 percent, with only 16.7 percent occurring during radiotherapy.

The study was conducted in collaboration with seven institutions across the Chinese mainland, including Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, Hunan province, and Hubei Cancer Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province.