Methods
W e performed a retrospective chart review of 189 patients who were diagnosed with recurrent NPC and treated at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of the AEENTH at [Blinded for review] University from January 2006 to June 2018. Patients who had distant metastasis or missing data on important variables were excluded. All patients underwent Salvage endoscopic nasopharyngectomy performed by [Blinded for review].
C linical data were retrieved, including the age; sex; history of smoking and alcohol consumption; diabetes and hypertension; body mass index (BMI); number of radiotherapy sessions before surgery;preoperative chemotherapy; period between recurrence and the last session of radiotherapy; T/N-stage; pathological type; status of tumor necrosis; overall survival rate;and serological factors(hemoglobin (Hb) count, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR),and serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). In addition, prognostic factors were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Differences in survival distributions were evaluated with the log-rank test. The Cox regression model was used for multivariate survival analyses. The follow-up period was from the initial diagnosis at our institution to date of death or last contact.