Immunotherapy for the treatment of advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a promising new era

Purpose Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is ranked the top otorhinolaryngology malignant tumors in the world. However, the general prognosis of recurrent and metastatic (R/M) nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs) remains poor, and current surgery and chemoradiotherapy do not generate satisfactory outcomes. Methods As a new therapeutic choice, immunotherapy, especially with regard to the development of checkpoint inhibitors including PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors have made considerable progress in recent years. As Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with increased risk of NPC, EBV-related immunotherapy may lead to a breakthrough in advanced NPCs. Results In this review, we summarized the clinical characters of NPC, and several past and ongoing clinical trials of checkpoint inhibitors and EBV-CTLs (CTLs: cytotoxic T lymphocytes) in R/M NPC immunotherapy. Conclusion We conclude that although the evaluated effects of new immunotherapy drugs have brought us hope on NPC treatment, further phase II-III trials with larger samples are still required to improve the proportion and scheme of drug collocation for better clinical outcomes and less drug-related safety.