Hemastatic biomarkers as prognostic factors in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with nimotuzumab plus chemoradiotherapy

Abstract Background: The prognostic value of hemostatic biomarkers in many tumors are well recognized. However, it remains unclear in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with nimotuzumab plus chemoradiotherapy . In this study, we investigated pretreatment hemostatic biomarkers as prognostic factors for short-term efficacy after treatment. Methods: In total, 101 patients with stage Ⅲ or stage Ⅳa NPC were enrolled from March 2016 to December 2018. All patients received chemoradiotherapy with concurrent nimotuzumab (200 mg/week) administration. Platelet count (PLT), prothrombin time (PT), international normalized ratio (INR), thrombin time (TT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and fibrinogen (FIB) were collected before treatment. Results: There was a statistically significant association between APTT and gender ( P =0.006), while PT and INR were found to be correlated with age ( P = 0.020 and P = 0.011, respectively). Prolonged PT or elevated INR was associated with a higher CR rate after treatment ( P = 0.008 and P = 0.003, respectively). Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that age, T category, N category, PT and INR were independent prognostic factors for primary tumor response, whereas N category and the overall stage could independently predict cervical lymph node response. Conclusion: Pretreatment PT and INR may serve as useful prognostic biomarkers for predicting the primary tumor response to combined nimotuzumab and chemoradiotherapy in patients with locoregionally advanced NPC.