Treatment Options by Stage

Stage I Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Stage II Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Stage III Nasopharyngeal Cancer
Stage IV Nasopharyngeal Cancer

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Treatment of stage I nasopharyngeal cancer is usually radiation therapy to the tumor and lymph nodes in the neck.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I nasopharyngeal cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of stage II nasopharyngeal cancer may include the following:

• Chemotherapy given with radiation therapy, followed by more chemotherapy.
• Radiation therapy to the tumor and lymph nodes in the neck.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage II nasopharyngeal cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of stage III nasopharyngeal cancer may include the following:

• Chemotherapy given with radiation therapy, which may be followed by more chemotherapy.
• Radiation therapy.
• Radiation therapy followed by surgery to remove cancer -containing lymph nodes in the neck that remain or come back after radiation therapy.
• A clinical trial of chemotherapy given before, with, or after radiation therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III nasopharyngeal cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of stage IV nasopharyngeal cancer may include the following:

• Chemotherapy given with radiation therapy, followed by more chemotherapy.
• Radiation therapy.
• Radiation therapy followed by surgery to remove cancer -containing lymph nodes in the neck that remain or come back after radiation therapy.
• Chemotherapy for cancer that has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body.
• A clinical trial of chemotherapy given before, with, or after radiation therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage IV nasopharyngeal cancer. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.