BACKGROUND A prospective, randomized study was performed to determine the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy over radiotherapy alone in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS From January 1991 to December 1998, 80 patients were enrolled in this study. Patients with locoregional carcinoma of the nasopharynx were randomized to receive two courses of chemotherapy, consisting of cisplatin and 5‐fluorouracil (CDDP‐5FU), that were administered before radiation therapy (CT arm) or radiotherapy alone. The patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were treated with radiation therapy, which was scheduled to commence 2 weeks after the second course chemotherapy. RESULTS With a median follow‐up of 49 months, a trend toward improved overall survival or disease free survival favoring the CT arm was observed (5‐year overall survival rate, 60% vs. 48%; 5‐year disease free survival rate, 55% vs. 43%), although this difference was not significant. There were no differences in locoregional failure free survival between the two arms. However, metastasis free survival favored the CT arm, although this difference was not significant. The results also demonstrated that most patients in the CT arm who experienced recurrent disease developed locoregional recurrences before distant metastases, suggesting that improvements in locoregional control may lead to improved disease free survival. CONCLUSIONS The use of CDDP‐5FU chemotherapy prior to radiotherapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma did not result in a significant improvement in disease free survival or overall survival. However, there was a positive tendency in favor of the CT arm for distant metastasis free survival, although there was no improvement in the locoregional recurrence free survival rate. Cancer 2002;94:2217–23. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10473

BACKGROUND Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) represents a heterogeneous group of tumors that vary with regard to their biologic aggressiveness and clinical course. In in vitro studies, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) was reportedly expressed by human NHL cells and elevated levels of MMP9 have been observed in a subset of patients with high‐grade NHL. METHODS The expression of MMP2 and MMP9 was evaluated in 158 patients with NHL and the relation between the expression of these proteins and clinicopathologic factors was analyzed. All but 1 patient had received radiation therapy and 92 patients also were treated with intensive combination chemotherapy. RESULTS Nearly all the patients with extranodal natural killer NK/T‐cell lymphoma nasal type and anaplastic large cell lymphoma, T‐cell/null cell type expressed MMP9. In contrast, only a small fraction of the patients with mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas and follicular lymphomas expressed MMP9. Approximately 50% of the diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cases expressed MMP9. The expression of MMP2 was noted in some of the patients with DLBCL and nasal NK/T‐cell lymphoma. The overall survival rates of patients who expressed MMP9 were significantly lower than that of those who did not. Such a correlation was not demonstrated in MMP2 expression. When MMP9 expression was analyzed in DLBLC patients, the overall survival rates of patients who expressed MMP9 were significantly lower than those who did not express MMP9. Chemotherapy was associated with better overall survival in DLBCL patients who expressed MMP9. Overall survival rates of T‐cell/NK‐cell lymphoma patients who expressed MMP9 appeared to be lower than that in those who did not express MMP9. However, chemotherapy was not found to improve overall survival in patients who expressed MMP9. CONCLUSIONS MMP9 expression was observed in patients with aggressive NHL and was characterized by poor overall survival. Cancer 2004;100:356–65.© 2003 American Cancer Society.

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