The outcomes of 51 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, treated in our hospital between July 1971 and June 1991, were evaluated. Factors which appeared to influence prognosis were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method. The ages of the patients ranged from 18 to 74 years. There were 38 males and 13 females. The cumulative five-year survival rate for the whole study population was 60.6%. The UICC classification (1987) was used for disease staging. The percentages of patients surviving after five years were: 100% (n = 1) for stage II, 75% (n = 4) for stage III, and 58.1% (n = 46) stage IV. The histological type with the highest survival rate was poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, which had a 69.8% (n = 37) survival rate. The anatomical sites of primary tumors were the lateral wall (62.4%, n = 33) and the posterior wall (54%, n = 33). Percentages of patients according to classification based on initial therapy were as follows: Combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy group, 61.5% (n = 22); radiotherapy alone group, 56.5% (n = 22). The incidences of local recurrence according to initial therapy were 36% in the combined therapy group and 50% for the radiotherapy alone group. There were no metastases to the cervical lymph nodes after initial therapy in stage II and III. In stage IV, the rate of metastasis was lower when combined therapy was given. When the relationship between initial therapy and distant metastasis was evaluated, the rate of metastasis was lower in the combined therapy group. We conclude that combined therapy is necessary in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)