Patients
treatment‐naive NPC, infection, liver and kidney function, bone marrow dysfunction, abnormal sleep habits, Cancer
MUCOSAL DISEASE, BLEEDING TENDENCY, INFECTION, DISEASES OF THE HEART, DISEASES, CANCER
A total of 82 treatment‐naive NPC patients, who were diagnosed by pathological biopsy in our hospital from August 2019 to December 2020, were included in this study. The inclusion criteria include treatment‐naive NPC patients with a Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) score ≥ 70 points; patients who received intensity‐modulated radiation therapy (IMRT); patients with normal oral mucosa; patients who did not receive other anti‐tumor treatment before radiotherapy or chemotherapy, patients without serious diseases of the heart, lung, liver, and kidney; and patients who voluntarily signed the informed consent. The exclusion criteria include patients with abnormal sleep habits, oral mucosal injury, or oral mucosal diseases which may affect observation before radiotherapy in case of active infection; patients with a bleeding tendency or immune diseases; patients who lack self‐thinking and expression ability; patients who are unable to complete oral scoring criteria; and patients with severe bone marrow dysfunction.The eighth edition criteria issued by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) were referred for clinical staging in the study.All the patients underwent dental evaluation before radiotherapy, and nasopharyngoscopy was completed for all of them. Their imaging examinations included enhanced MRI of the nasopharynx and cervical soft tissues, chest CT, whole‐body bone scan, and abdominal ultrasound or abdominal CT. If required, whole‐body PET/CT would be performed. Hematological evaluation (platelet count ≥100,000/μL, hemoglobin ≥10 gm/dL, and absolute neutrophil count ≥1500/μL), liver and kidney function evaluation (serum bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase equal to or 1.5 times higher than the upper limit of normal, endogenous creatinine clearance ≥60 mL/min) would be performed.