OBJECTIVE: To compare the side effects of intensity modulated radiotherapy(IMRT) and conventional radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHOD: Sixty nine cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were random selected by stages,with 32 cases in IMRT group and 37 cases in conventional radiotherapy group. The target areas in IMRT group were nasopharyngeal carcinoma, parapharyngeal space and neck lymphatic area with the fractional dose of 2.00-2.12 Gy per time, for 33-35 times. The cases in conventional radiotherapy group were given facio-cervical field radiation, DT 40-60 Gy per time, for 20-30 times. The reinforcing dosage in lateral facial field increased to DT 70 Gy in the nasopharyngeal area. The prophylactic irradiation dose of the neck was DT 50-55 Gy. RESULT: The incidence of dry mouth one year after radiotherapy in the IMRT and conventional radiotherapy groups were 9.38% (3/32) and 94.59% (35/37) respectively, with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.01). The incidence of difficulty in opening mouth in the IMRT and conventional radiotherapy groups were 6.25% (2/32) and 72.97% (27/37) respectively, with a significant difference between the two groups(P < 0.01). CONCLUSION Compared with the conventional radiotherapy, IMRT may improve the control rate and obviously de creases the side effects. It could be recommended for the radiotherapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Adult ; Carcinoma ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated ; adverse effects