Radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is the main treatment for stage Ⅱ-Ⅳa nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In the era of intensity-modulated radiation therapy, the timing and implementation of chemotherapy are still controversial. In the past, the clinical guidelines for NPC generally described the specific radiotherapy technology, dose fractionation and the specific scheme of combined application of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and may lack specific practical guidance. The joint international guidelines for NPC by CSCO and ASCO elaborates the mode and specific implementation recommendations of radical chemoradiotherapy for stage Ⅱ-Ⅳa NPC. This article aims to interpret the specific details of the guideline.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of Percu Twist (PT) tracheostomy comparing with that of operative tracheostomy(OT)in intensive care unit(ICU). Methods Related data were retrieved from CBM,CNKI,Wanfang Data,VIP,PubMed,EMBASE,CENTRAL,and Web of Science from the time of their establishment to May 15th 2014,and the data of randomized controlled trials(RCTs)concerning PT and OT were selected. The risk of bias assessment and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers. Meta analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.2 software. Results A total of 12 RCTs were identified,and 893 patients in ICU were involved. The results of Meta-analysis showed that PT could significantly shorten the operation time〔mean difference (MD)=-15.11,95% confidence interval(95%CI)=-17.14 to -13.07,P<0.000 01〕,reduce the volume of blood loss(MD=-17.59,95%CI=-21.90 to-13.28,P<0.000 01),reduce the size of incision(MD=-2.20, 95%CI=-2.57 to -1.82,P<0.000 01),shor ten the time of healing(MD=-3.60,95%CI=-4.15 to -3.05, P<0.000 01),and reduce complications such as infection of the wound〔odds ratio(OR)=0.20,95%CI=0.10-0.44,P<0.000 1〕and cutaneous emphysema/mediastinal emphysema(OR=0.22,95%CI=0.10-0.47,P<0.000 1)compared with OT group. The funnel plot suggested that publication bias might be found among 12 researches. Conclusions PT was shown to be more effective than OT in ICU with lower incidence of complications. As number of RCT cases is still small with unsatis factory quality,further clinical use is warranted for a better assessment.