Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) around the Mediterranean area: Standard of care

Mediterranean area (MA) represents a zone of intermediate incidence (1–5/100,000) for NPC, the highest frequency being observed in North Africa (NA) where it is characterized by a bimodal age repartition due to a first adolescence peak. In MA and NA, NPC remain diagnosed at advanced stages which impact poorly on overall and disease-free survival. It's therapy in MA followed the progresses and standardisation of protocols, based on concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) alone or preceeded by induction chemotherapy (ICT) in advanced (N2–3, T3–4) stages, while localized cases are managed irradiation alone. NPC overall an disease-free survival improved, due to the use of combined chemo and radiotherapy.