Abstract:Objective To explore the efficacy of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in the treatment of undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and to observe changes of serum epithelial cadherin (sE-cad) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) before and after treatment.Methods A total of 84 patients with NPC (undifferentiated type) admitted to our hospital from June 2019 to June 2021 were selected as the research objects, and divided into observation group and control group by random number table method according to the ratio of 1∶1, with 42 cases in each group. The control group was treated with 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT), and the observation group was treated with IMRT. Comparisons between the two groups were performed on efficacy, changes of sereum levels tumor markers [carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), squamous cell carcinoma-associated antigen (SCC-Ag), keratin 19 fragment 21-1, CYFRA21-1)], quality of life questionnaire core 30 (QLQ-C30) score, fibrosis indicators [hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), procollagen type III (PCIII), sE-cad, and PDGF after 7 weeks of treatment, as well as complication rates during treatment.Results After 7 weeks of treatment, the disease control rate in the observation group was 95.24%, which was significantly higher than that in the control group of 80.95% (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the serum levels of CEA, SCC-Ag and CYFRA21-1, the QLQ-C30 score, the serum levels of HA, LN, PCIII and the serum sE-cad and PDGF levels in the observation group were lower than those in the control group, respectively (all P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group was also lower than that in the control group (P<0.05).Conclusion Compared with 3DCRT, IMRT treatment of undifferentiated NPC can effectively reduce serum levels of tumor markers and serum sE-cad and PDGF levels, improve quality of life, have significant efficacy, and have less impact on normal tissues with high safety.