Early recurrence as a pivotal event in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: identifying predictors and key molecular signals for survivors

Table 1 Definitions of early recurrence for NPC in different studies

ER definitions	Reference	Patient resources	Results of ER population	Independent risk factors in ER population
The time to tumor recurrence ≤ 24 months after treatment	Zhang, 2022³	Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, China	Early progression: 1027/1953 (52.59%); 5-year OS: 31.9 months	T stage, N stage, gender, age, WHO histologic type, CRP, ALB, LDH, EBV DNA load, and cigarette consumption.
	Chen, 2022⁵	Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital	315/533 (59.10%); Median OS: 1.8 years, median DSS: 2.1 years.	NA
	Li, 2020⁶	Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, China	462/916 (50.44%); OS, NA	Age and gender for OS in the purely local ER group; Alcohol abuse and TNM stage for OS in the purely regional ER group; N stage and TNM stage for OS in the purely locoregional ER group.
	Chee, 2016⁸	Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore	NA	NA

ALB, albumin; CRP, C-reactive protein; DSS, disease-specific survival; EBV DNA, Epstein-Barr virus DNA; ER, early recurrence; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; NA, not applicable; NPC, nasopharyngeal carcinoma; OS, overall survival; WHO, World Health Organization

ISSN: 1746-160X